Hard work should be rewarded

Last weekend we celebrated Labor Day, and this weekend the NFL is beginning its regular season. In both we see capitalism highlighted. Many of us get a day off from our jobs on Labor Day. The idea is that workers have earned a day to be honored. While many people today are complaining about income inequality, no one seems to mind it in sports. We hear how high-performing athletes need to "get paid." Terms like "compensation," "hard work," and "earn" are thrown around as contracts are being negotiated.

A recent study by George Barna, indicates that 98% of people who favor socialism reject a biblical worldview. To simplify, most who believe income should be distributed equally regardless of talent or effort, do not agree with biblical principles about work that we glean from reading the Bible.

I have heard some Christians complain that having to work is the result of sin entering the world when Adam and Eve gave into temptation and ate the forbidden fruit. A closer look at Scripture reveals that, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Genesis 2:15). In other words, before the Fall, God created Adam and put him to work. Life is harder because of sin, but we were created to work.

Socialism, as I have discussed previously, goes against biblical teaching. Proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of a sluggard craves and gets nothing while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied." It is true that we are commanded to help the poor and those unable to work, but Scripture does not command us to help the lazy. We are admonished in 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Proverbs 6:10-11 describes the lazy, "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man."

Patrick Mahomes is the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is turning 25 on the 17th of this month and recently signed a 12-year contract that could possibly pay him more than $500 million dollars for his career. You cannot be opposed to capitalism and OK with a young man getting paid like that when many of his teammates only make the league minimum of $500,000 per year. I know that disparity of income is heart-breaking.

The same announcers who speak about player salaries with glee are often negative about the team owners who invest their personal fortunes, and much of our tax dollars in building sports empires where young men get rich. How many times have you heard someone criticize CEOs for making a good salary? Would it make sense to work for someone who could not afford to pay you?

The biblical principle is that we can enjoy the product of our labor, "It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops." (2 Timothy 2:6). Not only that, but we can take pleasure in the work itself, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." (Colossians 3:23). Socialism is negative, and views work as slavery, and employers as slave masters.

Our culture celebrates athletes and actors. We should also celebrate the businesspeople who invest their money and time to build businesses and create jobs. We have recently gone from a record-breaking economy to a global pandemic. We probably all know someone who has lost his or her job because of unforeseen circumstances. Be encouraged, we live in a country where hard work is rewarded. More people immigrate to the United States than any other country because they recognize this principle.