Don’t Be Deceitful
JAMES 5:4
Good News Translation (GNT)
4 You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.
Not only does James exhort us to use the gifts, the monetary blessings, that God has given us, he also tells us that when we acquire money, to do it honestly. This passage of scripture, when combined with those surrounding it and others that James has used paints a pretty stark picture of unacceptable business practices.
When a Christian owns a business, or hires an employee (even if it is just someone to wash your car or cut your grass), they have a higher responsibility to take care of that employee and pay them a fair wage.
With all the arguing over living wages, and fair compensation raging in the United States today I’m going to step off on a limb here and say that Christian owned and operated businesses shouldn’t even be a part of that conversation. Why? Because Christian owned businesses should already be paying their workers a fair wage. Not because the government mandates it, but because the morals and mores of our faith demand it.
Now what was happening here is that the landowners would hold back the wages of their works for a little bit longer than was necessary, gaining use of those funds for a little bit longer. This was considered unethical business practices and likely fraud. James is telling the listeners that they should, no they must, be above that kind of practice.
LEVITICUS 19:13
Good News Translation (GNT)
13 Do not rob or take advantage of anyone. Do not hold back the wages of someone you have hired, not even for one night.
We believe in hard work, and part of the Christian ethic is unless exceptionally hindered every man must earn his way. The Old Testament teaches that if a man doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat; and encourages us to avoid mimicking the sloth but instead to be like the ant: busy and industrious.
God ordained work, but keep it in balance. Work is not the goal. Obtaining more is not the goal. Providing for your family is the prize. Work is a tool.
Work hard for what you earn. Don’t cheat others. Don’t steal from others. Pay your debts. Don’t rob God. Each of these is part of the foundation of a proper understanding of wealth.