God's Week Has 7 Days
| Recent Articles... | |
| · | A Parable Of Rude Awakening (Dec 26) |
| · | Do You Hear What I Hear? (Dec 19) |
| · | Oom-Pah-Pah (Dec 12) |
| · | What's The Real Cost? (Dec 05) |
| · | What If . . . ? (Nov 28) |
| · | Explosive Profit (Nov 21) |
| · | Blueprint From Above (Nov 14) |
| · | A Hand Of Welcome (Nov 07) |
| · | (Oct 31) |
| · | The CEO As Pastor (Oct 24) |
| · | A Hiding Place Of Gray (Oct 17) |
| · | The Monday Connection (Oct 10) |
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More God's Week Articles... Preface / Forward About the Author |
A Hiding Place Of Gray
Oct 17
Anyone familiar with the photography of Ansel Adams knows the brilliance of black and white. Even in an age of full-process color, when computers and photocopiers produce the entire spectrum, an Adams creation shows the power of black and white to express mood, drama, and depth.
Editors of publications that still function in black and white know what black ink can do on white paper. When we choose photos for publication, we're looking for a blend of snappy whites, crisp blacks, and muted shades of gray. A picture in pure black and white does not reflect reality. Grays are needed for tonal accuracy.
However, there is such a thing as too much gray. I remember an editor who could demolish a photographer's offerings with a snarly one-liner: No depth of field; poor composition. Or, too gray.
Gray is an important color of the palette. But it must be used sparingly, appropriately, without being overdone. A photograph that is too gray is wimpy, ho-hum. It lacks life, movement.
Now jump with me from the world of photography to that of ethics, especially business ethics. How many times do we hear, That's not a black-and-white issue. It's gray.
Often it is. But do we too often hide behind the wall of gray? It can be a defense mechanism to avoid the effort of clarifying what is really right or what is wrong. Whenever an ethical decision is difficult, we can spare ourselves the hard work of determining the right by saying, It's a gray area.
What do we mean by gray, anyway? My dictionary defines gray as dull in color, dismal, gloomy, and neutral. What do we mean, then, when we speak of a gray area in ethics? Probably not dull or dismal. More likely we mean neither black nor white. In other words, a gray area is one in which there is no right or wrong. It is a neutral area, an ethical free zone.
Ethical issues are often elusive, thorny, and difficult. The right thing to do is not always immediately clear nor readily within grasp. But that does not make the issue neutral, or gray. It simply makes it elusive, thorny, and difficult. It does not unhook us from the responsibility of persistently seeking the truth of a situation and then responding appropriately.
A resolve: Next time I am tempted to call something an ethical gray area, I will stop first and take stock. Is it really gray, or is that a cop-out because I am unwilling to go to the effort of discerning the actual blackness or whiteness? Have I thoroughly examined the issue in the light of Scripture and the corporate wisdom of the church? Have I exhausted all possible means of analysis? If I call it gray, do I mean unclear, or do I mean it is a neutral issue? Do I have any nagging guilt over this issue? If so, why?
I have before me an Ansel Adams print. With few shades to work with, he manages to produce an image of majesty, movement, conviction. Sure, there are tones and subtle shadings that are not 100 percent black. But the gray is bold, purposeful,
deliberate.
Not wimpy.
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