day 600: Underhanded

Wouldn't it be great if we could always count on everyone at the office being straight-forward, to the point, well-intentioned and never underhanded? Hmm, if this was the case, do you think we would still call it work? It just doesn't work this way does it? Dictionary.com provides this list of underhanded synonyms: clandestine, covert, crooked, cunning, devious, dirty, dishonest, fraudulent, furtive, secret, shady, shifty, shorthanded, sly, sneaky, subversive, surreptitious, unethical, unfair, unscrupulous, and wily. As I read through the list, a few people from my career came to mind. It is a bit disheartening to think that I can put names on these words but it is reality. Companies are like small cities (and sometimes big cities) and if we think that everyone in a city is honest, above-board and trustworthy, then where are the other people that cause us to have laws and regulations? Take a look at your company handbook sometime and you can be assured that for every policy you see in there that addresses a problem, that somewhere along the way, someone did something that caused that policy to created. The larger and more detailed the policy book, the more troubles the company once must have had. It's like walking the pages of shame. Yes, people can be underhanded on our jobs and sometimes these actions can be pervasive and built into the culture. But, that doesn't mean that we should be that way. We must be known as the antonyms of underhanded; open, public, fair, honest, decent, honorable, principled, pure, trustworthy, truthful, uncorrupted and upright. Paul tells us as much in 2 Corinthians 4:2, "We reject all shameful and underhanded methods." Yes, we must reject these and not allow ourselves to get pulled into those areas where underhanded could define our actions. So, check and be sure that a corner is not being cut, something that is being in the dark gets brought to the light, and that we have nothing to hide today in what and how we do our jobs.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 4:2 (New Living Testament)