I can still remember the day that I learned the difference between a wasp and a butterfly. I was about four years old and playing in our screened-in-porch when I spied a large insect crawling on the inside of the door. Curious, I wandered over to check it out. It was yellow and black, but it was much bigger than any of the bees that I had ever seen before, and the shape wasn't quite right. If you've ever seen a mud dauber, you know what I mean. So, using four-year-old logic, I decided that what I was looking at was a different kind of butterfly, and, since I knew that butterflies were harmless, I reached for it.
It wasn't one of the more pleasant lessons that I've had in my life, but it was one of the best. Quick. Effective. Both of us (the wasp and I) survived. Would that every important life lesson could be taught so quickly and well.
I learned that day bad decisions lead to bad outcomes. I'm not talking about bad in the sense of "evil" necessarily, though that can come into play. I'm talking about the kind of bad decisions most of us can and do make on a regular basis. It can be anything from a mistake in judgment due to ignorance (thinking a wasp is a butterfly, for example) to loaning the rent money to a friend who has an investment that's a "sure thing." We put off our homework, eat too much, push the accelerator a little too hard. And while often there are no immediate consequences, most of us realize that sooner or later a bill is going to come due. In fact, we count on it. If there are no consequences for actions, then there is no civilized society.
Right now, the concept of "income inequality" is being widely discussed in political and news circles across the country. Many people seem to think that there is a great moral tragedy occurring that some people make a small fraction of what others make in terms of income. (These are often the same people that cry that religion has no place in the public square, but we'll leave that for another day.) I see a great many moral tragedies in our nation today, but income inequality doesn't seem to find a place on the list.
As human beings, each made in the image of God, each of us has infinite worth. There is no difference between the shop clerk and the CEO, the astronaut and analyst, the teacher and the truck driver. Because of that, it can be tempting to view great differences in their earnings as unjust. But such a view is not supported Biblically.
The first thing to remember is that the income a person receives does not reflect the value of the person, but the value of the person's labor. This is influenced by a great many things, and a large percentage of them are under the control of the person himself. The skills that we choose to develop, the course that we take in school, and the work habits that we develop along the way all play a part in how valuable our labor becomes to current and future employers.
Another thing to remember is that, with very few exceptions, people do not control their own salaries any more than businesses control their customers. That implies that if someone is being paid well, their employer expects their labor to earn them even more. If they are paid poorly, their employer expects little benefit. If the person cannot make the employer enough to cover the labor cost, there is no reason to hire the worker at all.
The Bible addresses income inequality from a number of different causes. Proverbs notes frequently that foolish behavior will result in poverty. In Deuteronomy, God warns the people through Moses that righteous living will result in prosperity while depravity will lead to ruin. If we take these warnings literally, then not only is income inequality not immoral, it is part of God's plan for teaching his followers and others the value of following God's laws. Like my younger self learning not to grab the wasp, few things can make the truth so plain as a difference in outcomes.
None of this is to say that some people are not the victim of bad luck and circumstance. Where that is the case, it behooves everyone in society to find ways to offer those who want to improve their lives the opportunity to do so. But I can't think of anyone who just "knows what people should be earning." That means that any law trying to reduce inequality is going to be driven by politics instead of reality. I can't think of a better way to destroy the working incentive of the nation.
It is good and proper to honor work with just compensation. It is also good and proper to encourage people to pursue more value and difficult skills by offering better compensation. It is moral to pay well for loyal, faithful, and excellent service, and little for poor and haphazard service. To try to change that paradigm is to invite further ruin on the nation. For Christians to try to promote such a thing in Christ's name does our Lord and Savior no honor.
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