Its a shame that something like this is news. All Sharon did was the right thing.
BreakPoint
cultural commentary with Prison Fellowship's Chuck Colson
http://news.crosswalk.com
Do (and Believe) The Right Thing
Sherron Watkins and Enron
By Charles Colson
With each passing news cycle, the story of Enron's collapse becomes more
sordid. Conduct that ranged from questionable to quite possibly illegal
has tarnished the reputations of nearly all of Enron's senior
management.
But there's one notable exception. One vice-president did the right
thing -- and did it because of her faith and the worldview it produces.
The February 2 issue of WORLD magazine reports that Sherron Watkins
never aspired to be a hero. And she certainly never imagined that there
would be T-shirts reading "Thanks, Sherron Watkins, Our Hero."
Watkins was an Enron vice-president who worked for the company's chief
financial officer. It was there that she became aware of the
questionable accounting practices that Enron used to hide the extent of
its losses and the lie about its bottom line figures.
Watkins was initially afraid to confront senior management about the
irregularities. But after talking to a friend and her mother, Watkins
drafted a six-page memo to Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. In it she expressed
her concern that the company "will implode in a wave of accounting
scandals." She went further calling Enron a "crooked company" whose
profits were "nothing but an elaborate hoax." She expected to be fired
and was surprised when she wasn't.
Watkins not only had the courage to risk her job, she -- unlike other
Enron executives -- refused to use her insider knowledge for personal
gain. Despite seeing the company coming apart, Watkins never sold her
stock.
Now, why, in the midst of what TIME magazine called "a failure of
character," did Watkins stick her neck out? Would it surprise you to
learn that she's a Christian? As her mother told WORLD magazine,
Watkins' "strong Christian background" made her want to do the right
thing in situations like the one she confronted at Enron.
And to discern what the right thing was, she didn't turn inward or to
business ethicists. Instead she sought the counsel of her pastor and the
people in her Bible study group.
Watkins' behavior has made her, in the London Guardian's words, "the
toast of America." But as her Sunday school teacher told WORLD magazine,
her Christian friends sometimes wonder what the big deal is. After all,
she was only doing what a Christian should do.
Sherron Watkins' actions are not only an example of the difference
Christian faith can make in a person's life, although they certainly are
that. Her actions are -- more than that -- a reminder of the cultural
impact that a Christian worldview can have.
When our post-Christian culture rejected Christianity, it rejected the
belief system that makes behavior like Watkins' possible. Today few, if
any, business schools teach their students the difference between right
and wrong. There are no courses in business ethics, as I discovered when
lectured at Harvard Business School some years ago. So, absent a
worldview that thinks in terms of moral absolutes, rather than next
quarter's earnings, there's no reason to expect people to act against
self-interest and do the right thing. That's why Watkins' actions stand
out.
We'll hear more about Sherron Watkins. And Christians ought to be
prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to tell our neighbors the
real significance of her story: That doing the right thing starts with
believing the right thing.
For further reading:
Bob Jones, "Reluctant Hero," WORLD, 2 February 2002.
BreakPoint with Chuck Colson, "The More Things Change: Enron," 17
January 2002.
Charles Colson, How Now Shall We Live? (Tyndale House, 1999).
Copyright 2001 Prison Fellowship Ministries. All Rights
Reserved.
Visit the Breakpoint website at http://www.breakpoint.org.
For more information about Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship
Ministries, visit http://www.prisonfellowship.
BreakPoint
cultural commentary with Prison Fellowship's Chuck Colson
http://news.crosswalk.com
Do (and Believe) The Right Thing
Sherron Watkins and Enron
By Charles Colson
With each passing news cycle, the story of Enron's collapse becomes more
sordid. Conduct that ranged from questionable to quite possibly illegal
has tarnished the reputations of nearly all of Enron's senior
management.
But there's one notable exception. One vice-president did the right
thing -- and did it because of her faith and the worldview it produces.
The February 2 issue of WORLD magazine reports that Sherron Watkins
never aspired to be a hero. And she certainly never imagined that there
would be T-shirts reading "Thanks, Sherron Watkins, Our Hero."
Watkins was an Enron vice-president who worked for the company's chief
financial officer. It was there that she became aware of the
questionable accounting practices that Enron used to hide the extent of
its losses and the lie about its bottom line figures.
Watkins was initially afraid to confront senior management about the
irregularities. But after talking to a friend and her mother, Watkins
drafted a six-page memo to Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. In it she expressed
her concern that the company "will implode in a wave of accounting
scandals." She went further calling Enron a "crooked company" whose
profits were "nothing but an elaborate hoax." She expected to be fired
and was surprised when she wasn't.
Watkins not only had the courage to risk her job, she -- unlike other
Enron executives -- refused to use her insider knowledge for personal
gain. Despite seeing the company coming apart, Watkins never sold her
stock.
Now, why, in the midst of what TIME magazine called "a failure of
character," did Watkins stick her neck out? Would it surprise you to
learn that she's a Christian? As her mother told WORLD magazine,
Watkins' "strong Christian background" made her want to do the right
thing in situations like the one she confronted at Enron.
And to discern what the right thing was, she didn't turn inward or to
business ethicists. Instead she sought the counsel of her pastor and the
people in her Bible study group.
Watkins' behavior has made her, in the London Guardian's words, "the
toast of America." But as her Sunday school teacher told WORLD magazine,
her Christian friends sometimes wonder what the big deal is. After all,
she was only doing what a Christian should do.
Sherron Watkins' actions are not only an example of the difference
Christian faith can make in a person's life, although they certainly are
that. Her actions are -- more than that -- a reminder of the cultural
impact that a Christian worldview can have.
When our post-Christian culture rejected Christianity, it rejected the
belief system that makes behavior like Watkins' possible. Today few, if
any, business schools teach their students the difference between right
and wrong. There are no courses in business ethics, as I discovered when
lectured at Harvard Business School some years ago. So, absent a
worldview that thinks in terms of moral absolutes, rather than next
quarter's earnings, there's no reason to expect people to act against
self-interest and do the right thing. That's why Watkins' actions stand
out.
We'll hear more about Sherron Watkins. And Christians ought to be
prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to tell our neighbors the
real significance of her story: That doing the right thing starts with
believing the right thing.
For further reading:
Bob Jones, "Reluctant Hero," WORLD, 2 February 2002.
BreakPoint with Chuck Colson, "The More Things Change: Enron," 17
January 2002.
Charles Colson, How Now Shall We Live? (Tyndale House, 1999).
Copyright 2001 Prison Fellowship Ministries. All Rights
Reserved.
Visit the Breakpoint website at http://www.breakpoint.org.
For more information about Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship
Ministries, visit http://www.prisonfellowship.
