Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
On a Minimum Wage, Prudence, and Justice

On a Minimum Wage, Prudence, and Justice

Last updated on: August 3, 2019 at 3:59 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

On a Minimum Wage, Prudence, and Justice 2019-08-03T15:59:24-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Cry Justice

Justice matters, including justice toward those who are poor. This is not a liberal or conservative position, justice for the poor is fundamental to Christianity.

Why?

No Christian can take the Bible seriously yet ignore injustice. We have a duty to alleviate human suffering. A summer spent reading the book of Habakkuk reminded me that there are few Bible books, no matter how short, that do not urge justice for those in need.

Justice is the goal.

No Utopianism, but Seek Justice

Seeking justice will not lead to a Utopia in this life. We might live better, on the whole, but most actions have unintended consequences in addition to what we plan. Movements that have tried to bring heaven to earth generally bring on a special hell.

Why?

“Mistakes are made” such as starving millions of Ukrainians or plunging millions into dire poverty, but these are “understandable” because the new day is coming. “Outside forces” are always blamed for problems too obvious to hide whether in the Utopian atheist regime or the Utopian theistic commune. The very goodness of the long term goal makes all the pain and suffering seem justifiable. This might be true if the good goal ever came or could be shown with certainty to be coming as a result of “sacrifice.”

The goodness remains distant and the evils always increase. For God, the ends might justify the means, because God is certain of the ends and the means, but for humans, our ignorance is too great, our power too limited, and our ability to deceive even ourselves too tempting.

Christians reject Utopianism this side of paradise. However, as Scripture shows, this does not mean giving up on incremental improvements. With care, a Christian chips away at social injustice with a focus on the individual. Feel this child, educate this college student, repeal this loathsome policy or law. We act seek justice, but with the humility of humans who know that great evils can be justified in a good cause.

Reject Utopianism, seek better. In politics, do not let the dangers of the best be the enemy of the better.

Justice with Prudence, Prudence with Courage

Injustice is morally wrong and we should stop being unjust ourselves immediately, if we can. We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us where to help with the general rule being “our neighbor.” A good rule of thumb: are we doing anything? I have friends that work in pro-life causes seeking to end legal abortion of unborn children and supporting those in crisis pregnancies. Some friends help families move out of poverty. Others adopt and care for high risk children. Some work in racial reconciliation while others focus on helping prisoners or substance abusers.

These are all good and each of us can do something: the goal is justice. Because of the dangers of doing more harm than good, we pick our causes carefully. This is the virtue of prudence: knowing how to do something well. The prudent person does not do too much, that might cause a revolution, or too little which continues injustice. We have turned “prudence” into another term for “do-nothing” and just as justice can be an excuse for an excess, so prudence can be an excuse to do too little.

Oddly, this is not real prudence. Justice is the goal and any virtuous person wishes to reach that goal as fast as possible. The pace of change, when justice has been identified, must be as fast as can be. The main harm to minimize is harm to those being treated unjustly! One way to know if a decision to “go slow” is prudent and not just cowardice is to see if there is a date certain when the injustice will be gone.

Think of segregation in the United States. Many so-called prudent people wanted segregation to end, but the evil kept going decade after decade. Any plan that allows a major injustice to continue for a lifetime was not prudent, it was not plan at all. Was there a plan to end segregation in the next twenty years? Or was there merely a promissory note (again!) to do something, sometime, somehow with a few token concessions to justice. Martin Luther King Jr rightly called out those who hid behind moderation to avoid peaceful, non-violent protest that was working.

Prudence reaches justice as fast as can be, by the best means available. Christians can disagree about those means. I think history shows that smaller government and economic liberty are (generally) best solutions. However, sometimes government help is necessary: see the Civil Rights Act. Occasionally the free market cannot correct a problem fast enough to keep many from being harmed: regulation of work place safety. How much government before the economy is stifled? What is the balance of law and liberty?

The minimum wage is a good example of an area where Christians can disagree. Nobody should begrudge a worker her due, but sometimes government “helps” workers and costs those workers a job. Will a higher minimum wage help more than it harms? My understanding of the data says “no.” I am sure others, perhaps more knowledgeable than I am would argue the opposite. As a voter, I will listen knowing that a “just wage” is hard to set, often harmful to employment when set, and does not have to come from the government. Perhaps I should, in my own work, strive to pay my lowest paid employees more, not look to the government to make me.

What is most prudent? Is a minimum wage a good tool for justice? If so, what should it be?

So it goes:

Christians use practical wisdom to seek justice using courage and prudence.

Culture

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

August 1, 2019

She is Best (On Being Best)

Next Post

August 3, 2019 Ancient Witches XII (Guest Voice: James Harrington)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the Christian teaching about temptation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Resist and pray for strength Give in quickly Deny it exists Ignore it

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »