Who Are You Striking Against?

Picture from the telegraph.co.uk

With all the strike action affecting all South Africans I though i’d share some thoughts on a christian perspective on what is happening.

Working is God ordained.

In His plan for creation God made man to work.

We work to provide for our families and this is something God takes very seriously.

In his second letter to Timothy Paul wrote that “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 2 Tim. 5:8.

But what about the strike?

Is is biblical to take to the streets and use fear and intimidation to have your demands met?

Well before we answer this lets us examine our attitude towards our chosen profession first.

Paul had this to say to the workers in Colossians:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

This single passage reveals the truth behind the attitude of the heart.

This concept is almost alien to us today.

Who nowadays works to please their boss?

We work to get paid.

Paul is saying that our work should not be done in an attitude of getting paid, but rather that we should work to please our employer!

The fact that we even get paid should not be a motivator.

How can the Lord expect this of us?

Especially since many of us work for Beelze-boss  himself it seems!

The answer is found in the next verse:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Paul is saying that we must understand that in reality the person we are really working for is Him.

Your boss may be your employer but He is your Provider and your attitude towards your work should reflect that truth.

The Word makes no exception here, Its is speaking to slaves who had no union to protect them.

The truth of the matter is that as children of God we serve God in EVERYTHING that we do.

I have had many people come up to me and say that its easy for me to as a pastor to be faithful because I work for God, whilst they work for a secular employer.

This is a deception!

You do work for God, wherever and whatever you do your attitude should be that of service.

Lets look at the next verse:

Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

The strikers in the streets feel that they are owed something. We live in a society where everyone wants to be a victim.

But, you may say, what about the employers? Don’t they also need an attitude adjustment?

Probably yes, but it is not for us to adjust.

There are no favorites here in the sight of God.

If the master treats the slave unfairly then the Lord will repay his wrong for wrong.

And vice versa.

Chapter 4 speaks to the employer:

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Ha! there you have it! its the employers fault!

Not so fast.

Here we need some interpretation and some contextualization of the word “fair”.

What is fair?

When is fair replaced by greed?

This is open for debate but in our country with an unemployment rate of over 25% it needs to be looked at very carefully.

Workers will always be under the impression that they are underpaid.

And employers will always want budget cuts.

There is no middle ground here. History has shown us this.

However with over one million teachers striking that 25% looks set to increase.

(or perhaps the striking medical workers will solve the problem by neglecting the dying and thus lowering the number of unemployed who rely of government hospitals.)

At the end of the day, or month by the look of things the only one who will suffer are the ones already in need.

If the teachers were true teachers then they would do what the Lord called them to do: Teach. And they would do it as unto the Lord.