I was talking with some friends of mine this week and heard this great story about character. One of my friends was having his business audited by the IRS. That can be a stressful time especially if you don’t keep good records or are playing in the gray areas.
My friend was not worried because he has a great accountant and he does everything with integrity. The head IRS agent was digging for something as he is supposed to do. My friend would sometimes buy things through the company and then reimburse the company for those items. He does this often with books that he is reading. My friend likes to read and grow as a leader and so is buying lots of resources. He always reimburses the company if it is for his personal use.
Well after running into this several times and not finding anything the auditor was very impressed with how this business is run. He even made the comment that he thinks he will start reading some of the books my friend reads.
That is amazing; that is character. My friend showed great character and integrity in how he runs the company and the finances of the company. Because of that he had an impact on an IRS auditor. Who knows, maybe he will read some of those books and his life will be changed.
A great definition of character is doing what is right even when no one is watching. My friend did the right thing even though he was the leader and could have taken advantage because of owning the business. It really challenged me to examine what I do when no one is looking. If I were to be audited either financially, relationally, spiritually or morally what would they find? Would the auditor be inspired to follow my lead or would he have to write me up?