Church of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion)
Diocese of
Abuja
Cathedral Church of
the Advent
5th Sunday In Lent -
Sunday 02 April 2017
Today's Sermon
Theme: "The Christian Work Ethic"
Topic: The Labourer Deserves His Wages And
Occupational Advancement
Key Text: Luke 10: 7
Summary:
A good starting point is
to attempt a definition of some of the terms in this topic and understand the
difference between wage and salary
Wage: "amount paid to
an employee every week. It is usually based on the number of hours worked
multiplied by the hourly amount agreed. The more hours an employee works, the
more amount he gets
Salary: "amount paid
to an employee monthly, usually the same amount irrespective of the quantum of
work done.
Furthermore, there is a
distinction between 'minimum', living, fair and just wage
Minimum wage: - the lowest
wage employers can legally pay their workers according to legislation or
contract. In Nigeria it is N18, 000.00
Fair wage: - minimum wage
rate for specific occupations, working for governments with fair wage policies
e.g. construction workers, trades, cleaning, security workers, e.t.c.
Living wage: - wage needed
to provide the minimum to pay for basic needs on the cost of living in a
particular Country; it varies from Country to Country
Just wage: - Fair and
equitable compensation for work done. However this raises a question - Who
determines what is 'just'?
A full time housewife can
ask for a just wage - the just wage could be insufficient to lead a decent life
Occupational Advancement -
refers to promotion in a person's job or profession i.e. career advancement.
Sometimes this is affected
by favouritism and discrimination.
Some Countries had
experienced differences between blacks and whites and between women and men.
In some instances geographical
mobility had created an obstacle to the advancement of women in their choice
profession or career.
Our key text says that the
worker deserves his wages, yet we find that many rich people withhold their
employee's wages (Mal. 3: 5)
In James 3: 15, many
injustices committed by the rich against
the poor are pointed out including not paying their workers the wages that are
due to them. As a result, they will face God's Judgment. This is a lesson for
Christians to ensure that their workers are duly paid.
There are also instances
in the Bible where people have performed well and been given more
responsibilities e.g. Jeroboam (1 Kings 11: 28) and the two diligent servants
in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25: 21 - 23)
Both are examples of
occupational advancement which Christians should emulate
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