The minimum wage debate has been prevalent in the news lately. I chose to write about it in this blog to share my Biblical interpretation of the minimum wage. I think that it is important to back up our side with scripture no matter what side of the debate we are on. So here's what I found when searching through scriptures.
Romans 4:4 “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”
Luke 3:14 “Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”
Proverbs 10:4 “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
I found quite a few other verses that talked about wages. Some of the verses mentioned giving your laborer wages.
1 Timothy 5:18 “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
Finding Biblical truths to support your argument.
I searched high and low and could not find any verses on requiring a business to pay laborers a livable wage. You can take verses out of context and try to twist and turn their meaning if you want to make them work. There are plenty of verses about not taking advantage of people and helping the poor. But there are no verses that call us as business owners to pay someone a certain wage.
Now if you want to dig into the Bible a little bit further, there are plenty of verses about theft. When you take things that do not belong to you. Avoiding theft was so important to God that he even put it in one of his Ten Commandments, thou shall not steal.
Forcing a business to pay someone a set wage is not Biblical. In fact, it is considered theft in the Bible. When you re-distribute wealth as some would say, you become a thief. Instead of having a “diligent hand” as in Proverbs 10:4, you live in poverty because of your slack hand. Luke 3:14 also calls people to be content with their wages.
When you look at Romans 4:4, the Bible tells us wages are counted as his due. When an employee chooses to begin employment, they agree to work for a certain wage. In America, you have free will to work or not work. You can decide to work where ever you want. You also choose a pay to work for. When you want to work for a certain wage, your employer is expected to give you your due. Meaning you get paid for your work as agreed to before starting your job.
Does the minimum wage support lazy workers?
When selfishness and laziness come into play, you demand that the Government step in and steal money from your employer. Instead of working harder to better yourself, you try to leverage the Government as a bandit.
I spent countless hours reading news stories, blogs and Google searches trying to find one Bible verse supporting raising the minimum wage. I wanted to find something in the Bible, worthy of debate. What I found was nothing. Nothing with any Biblical teeth to justify taking money from one person and giving it to someone that did not earn it.
It is disheartening when I see Christians supporting causes that are not Biblically based. What is even more disheartening is that they don't have any scripture to show where they are coming from. Instead of trusting in the word of God, they get on the worldly bandwagon of deceit.
I may have been a little harsh, but I am tired of Christians trying to argue issues without Biblical facts. If you are going to use the Bible as a weapon (which you shouldn't be doing in the first place), at least open it up and find something worthy and uplifting to share.
Bible believers, Bible followers, Christians, you are better then this. Don't fall for the lies, this is just what Satan wants. Quit trying to extort money from businesses. Stop it with all of the threats and false accusations. Romans 4:4 is pretty clear on this. Instead work on building a better spiritual life for yourself, your time is better spent there.