What Is Up With This World?

Am I the only one to notice the striking resemblance between most modern day employers and the Pharisees of Egypt? How so many are so busy worshipping themselves and their possessions and are busily amassing more and more material objects, rather than focusing on the things in life that are most important?

Granted, businesses are “in business” to turn a profit, but could most of them not be much more responsible corporate citizens? Corporate citizenship aside, could they not be much more respectful, mindful and appreciative of the “little guy” – the employees who most often are responsible for actually generating revenue for the corporations in the first place?

Assume for a moment that you own a small business.

Let’s assume that business has 10 employees and let’s also assume that 8 out of 10 of your employees have been with you for five or more years. Within those “5 or more” years, you have seen your business grow at least ten-fold, yet you continue to pay those loyal employees the same rate of pay, or less, if you factor in the fact that most businesses have cut employee benefits by 50% or more. In this scenario I am setting forth, assume you, as an owner of said small corporation have made at least $35,000,000.00 during that five year time period. Not only have those employees made you money, possibly through referrals or just plain old hard work, but those employees have saved you money – saved money in that there has been no money or productivity lost due to having to train new employees and things of that nature. Let’s assume a second scenario – one in which we have basically the same details, except for in your small corporation, your profits are dwindling.

Is it okay for the successful corporation to hoard all of the profits for its own gain? Or would it be more fair for that additional profit to trickle down, however small, to the employees who helped to build the company in the first place? Is it okay for the owners to continue to expect even more work than usual, so that only its owners can flourish. While I must agree that there is nothing written in stone that owners must share a good portion of their profits with its employees, would it not be fair for the employees to see at least a small percentage of return on its hard work?

As greed, selfishness and idolatry are quickly becoming the general consensus among more and more in this country, am I am the only one to see the similarity to the Pharisees of Ancient Egypt? I believe anyone who has ever studied even the most basic of Old Testament principle could see the similarities and I believe we all know how well that went for the Pharisees (insert smirk here).

When will employers realize that though they have a responsibility to themselves, their families and their stockholders, they also owe a lot to their loyal employees, for were it not for them, their corporations would cease to exist within only a short period of time.

Will they ever awake from their dreams of fast cars, fast money, large homes, country club memberships, lavish entertainment and lifestyles, and the like? That’s the burning question I have this week, because guess what? All of that could disappear in the blink of an eye – and then where would they be? Dwell on those thoughts for a moment.