Biblical Business Radical: Employment Prostitution

[Originally published as a LinkedIn article in 2017; updated 2022 here.]

I was caught short by a similar headline. The focus is on the definition of the prostitution unrelated to sex: "the unworthy or corrupt use of one's talents for the sake of personal or financial gain." We might consider someone to have prostituted themselves if they surrender their values in order to win a contract, employment or promotion. The article challenged business leaders to stop doing this to their employees, since many of us say that our greatest asset is our people. The challenge is to be more relational and seeking the best interest of your employees who are trading their time and talents for wages. The employment relationship basis doesn't have to be simply transactional and without care.

“I give you money—I bought you—so you do what I tell you to do.” A simple but corrupted view of employment. This easily happens when we want employees to sacrifice a high priority for them—such as a child’s special event—to work an extra shift. It happens when we expect “immediate” responses to messages, emails, calls during off-hours or, worse yet, vacations. 

Or we want them to stop talking about the things they see as problems in order to get along with the rest of the team, or to stop being a hassle, like an earwig burrowing into your brain every time they bring up the ideas they’re passionate about. (It could be they’re not a good fit with the organization; that’s a different problem that shouldn’t require them to disavow their beliefs but find another employment opportunity.) If we ask employees to violate a policy or overlook a requirement because “this is a different situation,” we’re treating them as if they have no mind or soul to worry about. We ignore the internal stress they may have or wondering how to understand the next ethical dilemma. When we treat people outside our organization then we treat our employees, it’s a problem; we’re sucking up to customers—prostituting ourselves—while asking our employees to suck up to our wishes and the customers’ wishes.

One restaurant group in Seattle has taken on this challenge, recognizing that the hospitality industry that's supposed to welcoming and serving 'strangers' does little to care for and serve its employees. Restaurants in particular have extremely high turnover often chewing up and spitting out employees when they've been 'used up'. One example of a change the restaurant owners have made: during the interview process they ask, "How would working here help you become the person you want to be?"

Similarly, one human services company for which I was a board director had a similar question that they not asked their clients but also their employees: "How can we help you achieve your dream?" They also had a rule that said, "Nothing about me without me" meaning that no discussions took place without the client's or employee's input. That always struck me as a rule that would help prevent talking about or treating employees as if they're just a machine, stapler or some other resource to get things done. Especially when things aren't going well and efforts are wasted or results are disastrous. How often have we talked about our employees without the respect and dignity they deserve?

I like these simple reminders like the human service company's rule or the interview question. I've tried to stay true to my values at every moment but in the heat of the moment (or the pressure of meeting payroll) I sometimes fall short. These rules can help me. I challenge you to see if your organization is developing your employees, helping them become the people they want to be, achieve their dreams or whatever meaningful expression you want to use. They aren't machines that can be tweaked and tuned through an employee preventive maintenance program (like recognition, incentives, PTO, etc.) without having some heart and relationship. If you treat them like this, you're perpetuating 'weak links'. We need to create stronger links lest the whole chain breaks down. Don't treat them like prostitutes. Treat them like people of value and worthy of honor because of their talents, skills and the experience they bring to help your organization succeed. 

People are God’s greatest creation. God reminded Job of this: “You may not be able to build mountains or turn back tides or run as fast as horse or be as strong as an ox…but I created you in My image and it’s you that I love the most.” If God can honor and respect Job, who was really struggling physically and emotionally, we should be able to do the same.

Trust God? But the Wicked Prosper and the Righteous are Often Poor

 Just finished reading a book by Peter Greer and Chris Horst, The Gift of Disillusionment, with many life experiences of leaders who despaired after idealism faded. They also use Jeremiah, the “Weeping Prophet”, who started as a teenager expressing God’s words to a uninterested nation. If anyone had to live in disillusionment for most of his life, it was Jeremiah. Yet he could still express enduring hope when circumstances didn’t meet expectations.

It doesn’t take long to read the words of Jeremiah, or any of the prophets or psalmists, to find this lament: the wicked prosper and the righteous are often poor. This observation is often followed with a general commitment, like “But I will trust in the Lord.”

It’s easy to say, but are we willing to acknowledge the pain of not seeing certain trustworthy aspects in our life with God? On a scale of 1-10, how much do we believe:

• God is punctual, dependable, reliable?
• God is competent and can do what we want Him to do?
• God has integrity (i.e. “walks the talk” and fulfills His promises)?
• God is accepting and approachable, that I can freely admit my weaknesses, failures, doubts with a fear of losing the relationship?
• God readily shares His heart, His desires, His priorities and is consistent in them so that I can rely on His character?

Early on God promises Jeremiah that He will not allow Jeremiah’s foes to overwhelm him, and that he will be delivered. But God doesn’t say, “…delivered from harm…” because Jeremiah experienced beatings, imprisonment and abandonment with the intent that Jeremiah would die. And Jeremiah calls God out on lies: “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas [what’s really happening is] a sword touches the throat.” (4.10) Jeremiah likewise complains, “O LORD, You have deceived me and [I fell for it.]” (20.7) as if to say, “I thought You were going to tell me words of hope, peace, prosperity and not words of destruction, exile and vengeance, which the people don’t want to hear and ridicule me because these things haven’t come to pass yet.” Like Job, Jeremiah then laments, “Cursed be the day I was born!” (20.14) Even in this woe and despair, Jeremiah doesn’t give up. Greer and Horst call him, not the Weeping Prophet, but the Persistent Prophet because his resilience survives. He maintains a deep rooted faith, like a tree planted by a river and bearing fruit (17.8 and Ps. 1.3).

How about us? Do we stop trusting God when our feelings cause us to rate God below a score of 5 on the questions above?

The Misunderstood Faith of Job

 I’ve learned to like the book of Job. I know it’s not everyone’s favorite. In fact, I have a pastor-friend who places it at the bottom of his “like” list. But here’s the secret. We have been reading the book incorrectly. We’ve projected our own emotions and we often listen to the wrong voices in the book. So here’s the secret: read the book backwards (sort of).

For those who aren’t familiar, here’s the chronological synopsis of Job’s story: He’s a wealthy man and much praised by God. Satan claims Job is only faithful because he has wealth and health. Those are taken away from him. Friends come to sit with him and encourage him to confess the unknown sin for which he’s being punished (“Job, we know everything you’ve done that’s bad since you learned to crawl. What did you do when you were in Vegas that we don’t know about?”). Job says he’s innocent. After many days of discussion, God shows up and recounts all the things Job can’t do. Then He restores Job’s wealth and gives him a new family. And they lived happily ever after.

By reading it backwards, starting in chapter 42, you immediately learn that God is not angry with Job. He’s angry with the three friends. If God’s not angry with Job, then how should we read the previous chapters that we would read as anger: “Who is this that darkens my wisdom without knowledge?…Stand up and brace yourself like a man! I will ask you questions and you will answer.” Let’s stop here and reconcile 38.2 with 42.7: being without knowledge but speaking accurately about God.

A lot of Job’s discourse is wondering what’s going on, why has his fortune been stripped away without any provocation or cause. I think those are the words “without knowledge”. Job doesn’t know the behind-the-scenes story of God’s dialogue with Satan. And Job won’t learn it now either. God doesn’t reveal it to him. So Job’s lack of knowledge is not a problem. God’s question, like the many that follow, is rhetorical, not requiring an answer. 

If we take “Stand up like a man” and substitute a few other biblical images, we could hear, “Get up out of the dust from which you are created, you who bear the image of Me, of God!” An invocation of the Creation story and thus the rest of God’s recitation can be put in this light. Job—or any person—is not capable of doing what God does: setting stars in the sky, determining tides and weather. Nor is Job has swift or powerful as other creations such as a horse, Leviathan and Behemoth. But that doesn’t change who Job is: he is still made in the image of the Creator; he is still the highest creature of creation; he is still the one creature with whom God communes. 

Now if you want to continue reading, skip all the chapters and passages where the three/four friends are talking. God doesn’t think what they said was any good. Read only Job’s words and you’ll learn this lesson from his words and his story: God’s favor or love for you cannot be determined by evaluating your circumstances.  “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away,” Job says. “I feel hedged in by God” i.e. my circumstances are not going to change. Good things happen to the ones God is angry with and to the innocent, the obedient, the faithful. Bad things happen to both categories of people also. I’ve known people who have lost faith when bad things happen—prayers aren’t answered, miracles are delayed, people die. I’ve heard similar responses from others who have known people in pain. Too many people assume that having good things happen means we’re in God’s will and we’re not in God’s will when bad things happen. That’s what the three friends kept contending. And it’s contrary to the whole history of Abraham’s people up to, and past, he history of the first century church.

Even when bad things happen, keep the faith. Follow Job’s example. Redemption is coming.

Note: I think there are also some interesting theological questions the book of Job raises, such as redemption of others. Job sacrifices for his kids in case they have sinned. He is commanded to sacrifice for his three friends by God at the end of the book. How much of a part can we play in redeeming others?

Biblical Business Radical: Selective Listening

 I’ve facilitated a few strategic planning sessions for Christian ministries. Also, I’ve spoken to business groups about scriptural paradigms for strategic planning. One of the rock-the-boat questions is: Are we really listening to God and His desires for our business?

You might be familiar with the different levels of listening, and here’s how they relate to our relationship with God:

• Ignoring: we’re not even listening to that conversation at the other table in the coffee shop or by the others in the same living room. Another way to ignore the other person’s “speech” is to talk all the time ourselves and not give the other person a chance to talk. Sounds like 99.9% of our prayers, and then we say “Amen” and leave His presence. We tell Him what we want to happen in our business, our plans and prospects, and ask His blessing. We never ask a question or wait to listen for the answer.
• Pretending: we are distracted and only act like we’re listening. Our minds however are elsewhere and we quickly forget what the other person just said. We might read “love your enemies” in our devotional but then we get to work. When our proposal is rejected by the customer, a colleague sabotages our project, or a staff member’s performance is a big disappointment, we forget about love. Our minds weren’t on loving our enemies during the devotional or at work.
• Selective: we hear what we want to hear. Or we hear just enough to start formulating a response. (More on this below.)
• Attentive: we hear every word. We understand it. We can repeat it back to God. We might even be able to paraphrase it in our own words to show we understand. For example, James 5.4 paraphrased: if you cheat workers of their wages, there’s a special place in Hell for you.
• Empathetic: we not only understand the text, but we understand the feelings behind them. Is God pleased, disappointed, frustrated, hopeful…? We might read Christ’s words to His disciples as frustration because that’s how we’d say these words: “Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves and how we fed the five thousand?” (Matt. 16.9) If we first read 1 Cor. 13–the love chapter—or Gal. 5.23–fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…self-control—we might put a different tone to Christ’s words. It wouldn’t be our frustration that’s expressed but His tender teaching.

Many business leaders like to pull out Proverbs 16.3 “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will succeed.” Many business leaders focus on honoring the Sabbath day, like Chick-Fil-A. And it has worked for them. (It’s not a guarantee—just ask LifeWay bookstores.) But many business leaders have ignored these verses also related to business:

• The Sabbath year: every seven years, our productive resources are supposed to be idled so they can rest. We’re to trust the Lord will provide a double portion of revenue in the sixth year we’ll have assets to carry us through the seventh. Also, we’re to forgive our debtors (an echo is found in the prayer Christ taught His disciples, commonly called the Lord’s Prayer). This means cancelling all outstanding loans and accounts receivable. I have yet to find a business (and especially a bank) honoring the Sabbath year. Lev. 25.4; Deut. 15.1, 9
• Using dishonest or inaccurate scales: I’ve written about this with regard to performance appraisals and how they do not reflect a person’s performance and so are inaccurate. But we might also “cheat” with regard to how we value property, inventory and other assets on our books; we’ll find the most favorable “measuring stick” to create an assessed value. We also might use biased salary surveys to pay ourselves more and our employees less (see Cheating workers of wages below). Various places in Proverbs, Deuteronomy and Micah. Clearly something the Lord abhors, detests, hates, finds abominable.
• Cheating workers of wages: paying employees less than their value/contribution to the company’s success; using industry benchmarks—created by ungodly methods, i.e. not taking into account God’s desires; whittling down our suppliers’ contracts so they have to scrimp on paying their employees; leveraging any advantage we have over customer contracts so that they may not be as generous with their employees as they could be. James 5.4
• Allowing for gleaning: leaving edges of fields for the disadvantaged to “rake” in the revenues, not going back to pick up business we forgot or missed, and also not passing over every sales opportunity multiple times till we captured all the business we could from that account. Not sure how some of this looks for the modern business. I’ve written about this too and have only come close in a small way. Lev. 23.22 etc.

There are many more. But it’s enough to know we “like” certain verses and are willing to comply with them and then the ones above are not as “likable” and therefore we have some reluctance.

Here’s another very popular example of selective listening, especially when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, such as labor shortage, pandemic, supply chain disruptions, government interference, etc. Jer. 29.11–“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm…” You see this verse almost everywhere. It’s thought to be our ticket out of danger, out of the valley, back into the light and back into prosperity. We take this verse like the cancer patient who hears the doctor say, “We got the tumor. You’re going to live…” and then stops listening, missing “…for only six months because it has spread to your other organs..” In Jeremiah 29, God tells the Israelites something like this: as a US citizen, you’re stranded in communist-run Nicaragua. You want to take Jer. 29.11 to the ticket counter for the flight home. The ticket agent says, “Senor, turn the paper over.” You read: “You’re going to be here for quite a while. So get married. Have kids. Help your kids get married so you can have grandkids, and great-grandchildren. I have plans for you to prosper and not harm. Hunker down. Build a house. Plant a garden. Join the Chamber of Commerce. Run for the local school board. Donate to the food shelf. As you help your communist neighbors have peace and prosperity, you too will have peace and prosperity for this duration.”

Our circumstances may not change. It doesn’t mean God is displeased enough to abandon us. He’s also with us in the “busts” of business as well as the booms. In fact, He may be to mature our faith faster if we don’t have so easy. “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials…” James 1