Living Wage

Living Wage, what is it? How should we handle pay for our employees and what should the expectation be surrounding a living wage, and is there a position taken in scripture. If you'd like an answer to these questions, press play and listen in.

Transcript

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Hello everyone, this is Bobby Simpson with another episode of Yup, it's in there. And today's topic is going to be on living wages. And so you say, Living wages? That's in the Bible? And my response is what it always is. And this episode, those previous and those to come. Yep, it's in there. And today's uh episode, again, we're going to be looking at uh living wages. And so I do want to do a little bit of history just so you know we're clear on some things as it relates to the uh U.S. and you know the earning gaps that currently exist. And so, according to the Economic Policy Institute, black workers can't simply educate their way up out of the wage gap. And so, across various levels of education, a significant black and white wage gap remains. Even black workers with advanced degrees experience significant wage gaps compared with their white counterparts. And after the controlling age, gender, education, and region, black workers are paid 14.9% less than white workers. This information is based on data they use from 2000, 2007, as well as 2019. And so, you know, we look here at situation where, you know, there's uh some free labor uh being given. Free labor uh received from slavery uh never ended. It evolved. So those against the uh abolition of slavery found a way around slavery. You know, the 13th Amendment of the Constitution states neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. So the evolution is then criminalizing the way you know a social group or a people group socialized in order to bring change, in order to gain free labor. And so the prison system in America is slavery by another name. And so the evolution is the disproportionate gap in salary for blacks who are more and equally qualified yet earn far less. And so, you know, when we look in scripture as it relates to policy and God's position concerning that, then we get here, and we can see in Malachi chapter 3, verse 5, and this is in the English Standard Version, I am going to read for you, and it says, Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. And so God clearly takes a position on the lack of equity in pay and attempting to garner things or put yourself in a position to take from someone something that you didn't rightfully earn, something that you didn't rightfully pay for. And so it has, you know, in effect, you know, caused great disparities disparities in how you know blacks in this country, you know, even when they are more or equally educated, how they are continually disparaged. And so I want those of you who are black to take heart and to take your cause before the Lord. Most of uh why we do what we do here at Yup, it's in there, is to make sure that you you are in a position where you understand and you know that God stands with you and where God stands with you as it relates to equitable pay and being treated fairly. We're also going to look at Jeremiah 22, verses 13 through 17. And in those verses, there again, you will see God's position as it relates to a living wage and being able to earn equitably in the same way that others are. And so again, this is Jeremiah 22, verses 13 through 17. And the word of the Lord reads, Woe to him who builds a house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor's service without wages, and gives him nothing for his work? Who says, I will build myself a wide house with spacious chambers and cut out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion? Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Do not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and the needy. Then it was well. Was not this knowing me, says the Lord? Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness for shedding innocent blood and practicing oppression and violence. And so there again are very strong words concerning God's position of slavery and the fact that you're willing, you're not willing to pay fairly to those who have done the work. And so I do want to encourage those of you who are members of this podcast to know that God is concerned about the things that we are concerned about. And so you ask me, is living wage in the Bible? And my response is Yup, it's in there. This is Bobby Simpson with another episode. Yup, it's in there. See you next time.