The Negotiated Wage
During his ministry, Jesus had many encounters with
the scribes and Pharisees, the religious elites of his day. One of
those encounters is recorded in Matthew 15.
The S&P’s came to Jesus complaining that his
disciples were not observing the traditions of the elders (15:2).
The issue was a matter of hand-washing. Jesus turned the tables by
pointing out that they themselves were transgressors of the law
because they thought more of their traditions than the Word of God
(15:3). Then he called them “hypocrites” because they gave lip
service to God but had hearts that were far from him (15:7-9).
The disciples then came to Jesus expressing to him
their concern that he had “offended” the Pharisees with his rebuke
(15:12). In other words, “We need these guys if your ministry is to
take root and be successful!” Jesus then responded, “Let them alone:
they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall into the ditch” (15:14). In other words, “I do
NOT need these guys to build the church I plan to build!”
What Jesus described speaks volumes to the current
political climate in America. Most people in this nation are blind
as bats. The leaders are equally blind. America is in a deep ditch.
Now we have the sightless Hillary Clinton telling blind Americans
that Jesus would have “endorsed the minimum wage” as well as Liberal
policies. While the blind may eat up such fiction, the Bible, of
which Hillary is ignorant, does NOT teach that. Whenever I hear a
godless Liberal invoking Jesus, it raises red flags! A brief review
of scripture will expose her ignorance.
In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus told a kingdom parable. He
likened his kingdom to a landholder that needed laborers for his
vineyard. So he went out early in the morning and hired some,
agreeing to pay them a “penny” for the day’s work (20:2). At the
third hour he hired more, agreeing to pay them “whatsoever is right”
(20:4). He did likewise at the sixth and ninth hours, making the
same deal with the workers (20:5). At the eleventh hour, he
recruited more workers and agreed to pay them “whatsoever is right”
(20:7).
The end of the day came. It was time to pay all five
sets of laborers, beginning with last hired. He paid them a penny
(20:9). When it came to the first hired, he paid them the ‘agreed
upon’ penny as well. This caused the first hired to “murmur”
inasmuch as those who had worked one hour got paid the same as those
who had worked twelve hours under “the burden and heat of the day”
(20:12). It turns out he paid ALL the workers a penny, an “equal”
wage, without regard for time worked.
The landlord answered one of the complainers, saying,
“Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a
penny?” Now, this parable has kingdom implications (interpretive)
that are not within the scope of this discussion, which deals with
its application. The point Jesus was making in terms of wages, in
which the landlord had done NOTHING WRONG, was that they were
NEGOTIATED wages as opposed to minimum or mandatory wages.
Jesus, via this kingdom parable, endorsed the
free-market principle of the negotiated wage, or what the market
would bear. Those who worked a twelve-hour day could have negotiated
for MORE than a penny. But they AGREED UPON the offer made by the
landlord. The fact they got EQUAL wages is NO argument for a MINIMUM
wage. Each got a NEGOTIATED wage agreed upon in good faith by the
landholder and the workers. For that reason those who worked a full
day had NO GROUNDS to complain about what the landholder paid the
one-hour workers.
A second principle, in addition to negotiation, is
that of ownership. Jesus reasoned, “Is it not lawful for me to do
what I will with my own?” (20:15). The answer to that rhetorical question is
an unqualified “Yes!” The one who OWNS the vineyard has the
prerogative to NEGOTIATE the labor required to maintain it, which
the landholder did. One of the fundamental building blocks of
American society is the principle of Property Rights. Therefore the
Government has NO right whatsoever to dictate to business owners
what they pay their workers…period!
These are the two problems with the Minimum Wage.
First, it strips the labor market of the principle of negotiation.
Secondly, it violates the principle of property rights. The
Government mandating a certain minimal pay for labor is far, far
different than the employer (owner) and employee negotiating
(agreeing upon) a wage based on what the employer needs and what the
employee brings to the table.
The bottom line: NOWHERE
in scripture does Jesus endorse a minimum wage or even hint at the
notion. He did, however, illustrate and uphold the free-market
principle of a negotiated wage and the right of business owners to
negotiate that wage without Government interference!
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