Camp Theme: over the hedge

There are days when you wake up feeling that the world is against you. Everyone at work hates you because you’re the goody-two-shoes who told on your boss because he was paying under table money to get that RM2million project that would bring your department back into the black. Or maybe they just don’t like having you around because you’re the killjoy who not only won’t loosen up a little and get a minor teensy-weensy little bit drunk at the annual dinner but also cautions everyone about the dangers of drinking and driving. Or they could just be annoyed at the way you’re so chirpy and bright every Monday morning when they’re down with the blues and nursing a little weekend party hangover.

Then again, you could be just like them, and you wonder why you even identify as a Christian in the workplace when nobody likes having Christians around.

The corporate world is known as a dog-eat-dog world as much as it’s called a rat race – and it’s a place where it’s hard to win, whether you’re sucking up with the best of them or you’re plodding along trying to stay righteous. Sometimes your livelihood may be at stake, but most times it’s just a toss-up between the enjoyment of the peaceful sleep of a righteous man or the benefits of a good pay raise. And both sides are telling you that their way will get you on the right career track to great things (and great money).

You’ve studied the highly successful businessmen out there who’ve greased palms on the way to power and you’ve learnt about the few who haven’t, but still made it – through vast trials. You’ve also learnt that unethical practices don’t pay from the court cases of high-profile leaders and corporations who were caught red-handed, but you’ve also learnt that sometimes being ethical means you’re stuck in a low paying job with no hope for advancement. And so you wonder – whose example should I follow?

Which way is the best to reach that paradise waiting just over the hedge?