Monday, August 23, 2010

Pay People What You Owe Them

James 5:4

"Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty." Pretty strong language, particularly if you supervise others. The context of this passage is a warning to the rich who got that way on the backs of the poor, one of the consistent themes in James. The application has to do with what it means to be a good supervisor or manager. Pay people what you owe them. It's unfortunate, but I hear stories of managers and owners trying to find loopholes to avoid paying their employees the money for which they've worked. James is saying, pay what you owe to your workers.


It's a little bit more of a stretch, but this might be extrapolated to say, pay a wage that your workers can live with. There is a lot of talk these days about a living wage, which recognizes that minimum wage is usually not enough to live on, particularly with a family. As I said, it's not explicitly mentioned here, but I think this living wage is very consistent with the overall message--don't try to increase what you have by not giving your workers the pay they deserve.

No comments:

Post a Comment