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Mr. Armstrong, we didn't really talk all that much about spiritual
things because that wasn't the proper setting. He had called upon
me to solve some specific problems and we were pretty much talking
about those problems. Maybe now and then spiritual things would find
their way into our talks in the proper context, but very soon it
became apparent that I would be representing the church in many
different ways. And I would always be acting on behalf of the church,
for the most part with persons or institutions on th·e outside of the
organization. And he wanted me to be very certain that I understood
that there was God's way of doing business and there was the other
way of doing business. And he wanted me to be certain at all times
to do business God's way.
Now by that he meant that he did not believe it was necessary to
get the best of every deal. He didn't believe that it was necessary
to use our economic power or leverage, for example, or whatever other
advantage we might have as an institution, in order to demand that
last drop of blood or sweat from the man or the institution that we
were about to do business with. He certainly did not believe in sharp
practice, but he was going one step beyond that. He was saying that
to do business for God's Work, we must try to make a good bargain
with the people that we do business with. We must try to make it a
happy situation for them as well as for us. We must not try to
grind them into the ground.
Now this was very important because this is what I was also
teaching when I was a professor in a law school, without really
realizing at that time that I was dealing with a biblical principle.
I believed honestly at that time that I was dealing with something
that would be, you might say, an enlightened approach to the subject
of business contracts based simply on the premise that what is good
for both parties is more than likely going to produce a happy business
relationship and will lead to both parties fulfilling their promises
because, after all, that is what a contract is all about. And if a
party has been forced by circumstances into accepting an agreement
that is not one that will make him happy -- that will not produce for
him some benefit that he expects or that he warrants -- then we're
not going to have the kind of situation that we would wish. In fact,
we might have a lawsuit!
So I taught all my law students that if the contract isn't good for
both parties, it probably won't be good for one -- at least not every
time. But I hadn't realized at that time that this principle could
be found in the Bible. Essentially we are taught from the Bible that
economic power should be used in such a way as to benefit mankind.
It should be used for the service of mankind. It should be used for
service instead of domination. So when applying that principle for
the church on a contract basis, we never had a lawsuit.
Over the years, the church built Ambassador College, including the
development of three separate campuses,through many building contracts.
And anyone who has had much to do with the business world will tell
you that most of the lawsuits in the business world corn� about as a
result of building contracts. It's a very, very common thing. In
fact, a great body of law has been developed simply because of the