The Christian workplace

Even business brands that purport to do good are not all that good. Fair trade chocolate usually means "mass balance", a portion of the cocoa is ethically sourced, but not all of it.

It is probably true businesses that tried to be really good, would not be doing really good in business. A regulation that requires businesses (and their customers) to follow Christian values would probably be more of a burden than any other regulation out there.

It would mean supporting the increase to the minimum wage, and higher than what was just awarded. To help ensure the abundant life that Jesus wants us to have. It means no more slave or sweatshop made goods, creating supply chain issues, probably worse than the ones caused by COVID.

It could mean the discontinuation of harmful goods, like cigarettes. They extinguish millions of lives each year. And even soft drinks, due to health implications, and the impact on the environment. Due to things like the significant amount of water needed to make the drinks. And what about cars, can we say anything that kills more than one million of God's children a year, should be banned.

These businesses are hardly going to stop selling, or us buying what they are selling. So, what values can be realistically adopted in workplaces?

Don't lie, about the quality of a product, or on your taxes? Treat your worker as yourself? It is the great commandment. So, pay them their wages, entitlements, and don't make them work in hazardous environments. Do not mistreat an alien or oppress them, a command found in Exodus. So, don't exploit migrants working in the business. What you do to the least, you do to me. So, treating everyone, from the sub-contractor who cleans to the person homeless outside the business much better.

If all of that is too much to do, how about just one thing. Don't ask an RN to work more than 13 hours.