Working to Share

“Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need” (Eph 4:28).  For quite some time, this verse has informed my approach to work.

Through our work, God has given us both the opportunity and the responsibility to redirect wealth from the world’s system to God’s kingdom.  That is, one of the purposes in earning money through our work is to reinvest our earnings into the needs of those around us.  Have you ever thought about work that way?  This is literally “laboring, performing what is good, in order to have something to share with the one who has a need.”

What does this look like in action?  On the work side, it behooves us to do our work with excellence.  Of course, we are not always promised higher pay for better work.  But generally speaking, excellence in our work will lead to greater income.  Likewise, as much as we have influence over it, we should not sell ourselves short; giving our services away for less than they are worth.  Again, we do not always have control over this, but there is no error in seeking our highest income potential.

Because, as the Bible makes clear in several passages and parables, we are not working to just accumulate for our own comfort.  Accumulating wealth for accumulating sake is never condoned.  Building bigger barns to hoard our wealth is a great foolishness to quote our Savior.  So aspiring to greater income only has value as we share the results generously.

This leads to the sharing side of the equation; a side that is just as important, or more so, than the earning side.  And this sharing side can take many forms.

It may be what is thought of as traditional philanthropic giving to church ministry or missions or meeting social needs.  But it may also be meeting practical needs for our family and friends.  Giving an extended family member a car.  Buying groceries for your neighbor who is between jobs.  Absorbing the cost of hospitality in your home.  Acts of kindness and generosity, large or small, all fit into this category of redirecting wealth from the world’s system to God’s kingdom.

And God’s kingdom is also right there in your immediate family.  It may be helping your adult child buy a car to allow them to get back and forth to their new job.  It may be paying for college or specialized training for your teenager.  It may even be remodeling your kitchen to raise the joy factor in your home.  There is so much variety available to us to reinvest in people with our work earnings.

I just want to emphasize again that “sharing with him who has need” is as variable as the people God has brought into our lives.  It is as creative as you can conceive it to be.  It is most of all an attitude of generosity.  And it is a great motivator to go to work and “labor so that we have something to share”.

Justice and Fairness in Action

A recent article in The Tennessean, Nashville’s daily newspaper, highlighted the housing challenge for low income workers.  A study found that the average wage needed to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Nashville is $13.75 per hour ($16.35 for a two-bedroom).  This $13.75 per hour is not only about double the minimum wage, but is $1.94 per hour greater than the state average income.  This housing difficulty for low wage workers is just one of the symptoms of our out-of-whack income inequality in this country.

But one man is doing something about it.  Dan Price, founder of Gravity Payments, a credit card processing firm based in Seattle, recently announced a startling new wage structure for his company.  Last month, Mr. Price set out on a plan to raise the salary of every employee to a minimum of $70,000 per year.  This, at a company where the current average salary is $48,000 per year.  You can read about his plan here.

How does he intend to pay for it?  For starters, Mr. Price is cutting his salary from nearly $1 million per year to $70,000.  In the New York Times article, he is quoted, “The market rate for me as a C.E.O. compared to a regular person is ridiculous, it’s absurd.  As much as I’m a capitalist, there is nothing in the market that is making me do this.”  And that is the beauty of what Dan Price is doing.  Mr. Price is breaking free from the injurious notion that drives American business – what is the lowest possible wage I can pay my workers in this market?

Did you notice the word “market” in the quotes of Mr. Price?  The market rate for CEOs is ridiculous – his words, not mine.  And the market is not requiring him to raise salaries.  He is actually going against what the market requires.  Why?

What is not reported in the NY Times piece is that Mr. Price is a believer who is interested in “granting justice and fairness” to his workers and maybe a little generosity thrown in.  He recognizes that in the Seattle area, a salary below $70,000 per year makes it difficult to buy a house or save for your children’s education.  He wanted to do something about the financial pressures workers face when hit with a rent increase or unexpected car repair or nagging credit card debt.

I salute Mr. Price.  I hope his example will be followed by others.  He has his critics to be sure.  But in my opinion those critics are narrow-minded and missing the biblical admonition to “grant your workers justice and fairness.”

Justice and Fairness in the Workplace

Now let’s turn to the big picture of “Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you have a Master in heaven” (Col 4:1).  We have a big problem in this country with income inequality.  We have all seen the statistics that compare executive pay to the lowly wages of the worker bees.  And I will not belabor the point except to summarize that the low end of the economic food chain in this country is grossly underpaid compared to what they contribute.  Free-market capitalism in our wage structure – that is, paying the lowest wage possible that the market will support to hire my workers – is one of the principle drivers of this inequality.

But the biblical position is not free-market capitalism in the wage structure, it is treating workers with justice and fairness.  As believers, we should be supporting wage scales that people can live on.  Wages that can support a family.  Wages that reflect workers sharing in the harvest.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:9-10, “It is written in the Law of Moses: ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.’ Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.”

Today’s workers are not sharing in the harvest.  Instead they are captive to a market-driven pay scale.  What do I mean by market-driven pay?  Let me give you a story from my own work experience.

Several years ago, in the days of top secret salaries, a new coworker of mine who had just joined the company leaked the fact that he was making about $10,000 per year more than I was.  His work experience was actually a little less than mine, so it caused some angst on my part.  I approached my boss about the income disparity.  My supervisor was very straight-forward, “Jay, we can pay you less because you are already here.  We have to pay the other guy more to get him to leave his former employer.”

This is market-driven wages.  There was no thought for fairness.  There was no concern for loyalty.  There was no consideration for the fact that I had discovered millions of dollars of oil and gas for the company without sharing in the harvest.  Now, I am not sharing this story for your sympathy.  I am well-paid and we have been blessed to raise a family of five children on my salary.  I am sharing this to illustrate the concept.  And its implementation is more painful the farther we go down the wage scale.

I have also observed this corollary to market-driven wages in the workplace.  A market downturn causes a company to lay off workers.  The remaining employees start working 50 and 60 hour weeks to keep the company afloat.  The message from management to the overworked staff is “just be grateful you still have a job.”  Then, when things turn around and the market improves, the company realizes that they can maximize their profits in the rising market by not hiring the new workers they need but just keep riding their current employees to keep working harder.  It is not a picture of justice and fairness.

Or how about the current minimum wage discussion.  When I was in college, I worked a minimum wage job as a groundskeeper.  By my last year in school, the minimum wage was $2.65/hr.  It sounds pretty small now.  But by comparison, my college costs (tuition and room and board) were around $2500/year.  Now the comparable college cost in 2015 at a four-year public school like I attended is about $19,000/year, a 660% increase.  So maybe we should increase the current minimum wage to a 660% of the $2.65 that I was making then so that college students could actually afford to pay for their education.  Oh by the way, that would be a minimum wage of $20.14/hr, a far cry above the current and dismal wage of $7.25/hr.

Because of our marriage of American-style capitalism with American-style Christianity, I think we sometimes fear association with the liberal camp if we support increased wages for workers.  But this is not a liberal vs. conservative issue.  This is a justice and fairness issue.  And the Bible makes it quite clear where we are to land.

With Justice and Fairness

“Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you have a Master in heaven” (Col 4:1).  Our last post covered the responsibility of workers to do their work heartily.  Today, we look at the flip side; the responsibility of employers to treat their employees with justice and fairness.

In our rush to join American-style capitalism with American-style Christianity, we are quick to defend a business’s right to maximize their profit.  We are quick to point out the requirement that “he who doesn’t work, shouldn’t eat”, highlighting the need for a diligent workforce.  But the responsibility to treat the workforce with justice and fairness may be one of the most overlooked teachings in the New Testament.  There is a big picture aspect to this question that we will tackle later.  But for now, let’s focus on the individual application.

We all are employers on some level.  You may own a business with a large staff.  You may be a homemaker who hires house-cleaning help or a lawn service.  Or it may be as simple as paying someone to cut your hair or babysit your kids.  The point is that we all have opportunity to treat those who serve us with justice and fairness.

Somewhere along that line, we have gotten the idea that the Christian goal is to pay as little as possible for these services.  But does that really fit the justice and fairness admonition?  I am not saying we should overpay for poor service or inferior products.  But there is also no reason to think that we always have to “win” the bargaining game.  It is somewhat of a zero-sum situation.  If I always have to “win”, then someone else is most likely “losing”.

Businesses are not in business to give their stuff away below cost.  Service providers are not in business to take home as little pay as possible.  As believers, we have a responsibility to pay what is fair.  Do you agree?  Or do you think that there is no moral imperative to how much we pay for our services?

Now this is not about being wasteful with your cash.  This is not an endorsement for spending above your income.  Each of us has a personal financial limitation and as we view our supply as being God’s gift and choice, we also hold it as God’s tool to be used to honor Him.

Ask yourself if God’s Word is giving you something new to consider.  Because in the area of paying those who serve us, there is a danger to let market forces – what is the absolute least I can pay in this market for this service – override our biblical responsibility to treat those who serve us with justice and fairness.

Do Your Work Heartily

Let’s look back for a minute on our tour through the book of Colossians.  We started in chapter 2 where the apostle Paul warns us “not to be taken captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col 2:8).  We learned that one of these deceptions is the “empty religion” of legalism where “self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body have the appearance of wisdom, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Col 2:23).

Continuing into chapter 3, the apostle explains that living the Christian life, defeating the flesh, is all about living into our new identity in Christ.  It is seeing our old man crucified at the cross and putting on the new man who carries within him the attributes of “a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness…and above all love, the perfect bond of unity” (Col 3:12-14).

Then Paul goes into specific examples of what living into a life of love looks like in our relationships; wives, husbands, children, and fathers.  Today, we come to what love looks like in the workplace.  “Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord” (Col 3:22).

This verse is not a biblical support of slavery.  Rather, Paul was working within the parameters of his time.  Today, we take its principles to apply to our employment.  We are to work under our earthly authorities in a sincerity that pleases the Lord.  We are to work in a manner that would be acceptable to the Lord were He our immediate supervisor.  Paul expands on this idea in the next verse.

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Col 3:23-24).  What does our work life look like when we are working “heartily, as for the Lord”?

I can think of at least four principles that color our work with godliness.  First, we work to provide for our families.  “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (I Tim 5:8).  Second, we work to redirect wealth from the world’s system to God’s purposes.  Ephesians 4:28 says, “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.”  Third, we work to display excellence, as evidenced in today’s verses in Colossians chapter 3.  Fourth, we work to represent Jesus Christ to the world.  Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:13-16).

I have written on these four principles before and you can explore them in much more detail in this set of previous posts.  As in all things related to the Christian life, our attitudes and actions in the workplace are to be a reflection of who we are in Christ.  May you approach your work today as an expression of the heart of Christ that indwells you.