Give it All Away
Christians are merely slave labor.
I have seen (many) job postings for churches that read such:
Wanted, Youth Pastor.
Must have Seminary Degree and at least 5 years exp. Prefer married man but will make exceptions. Must be available to work 31 hours a week. Must be able to attend Sunday nights and Wednesday night Bible study in addition to regular duties.Starting pay, $700 /month. No Benefits.
If you do the math, this means they want a person who has just shelled out $30,000 for a Masters to work nearly full time for about $5.64 an hour (plus however many hours they want for Sundays and Wednesday nights). Ouch.
We do not get into ministry for the money.
Sometimes it is OK to work for free (or close to free). I was reading this post when I lost my mind. The abridged version is; John Saddington asked his community (those who read his site) to help him come up with a business card design. He did not have money or prizes to offer, but would give recognition to the artist.
Turns out, this injured someones pride.
There is a “no-spec” movement among graphic designers to make sure they paid for every second of work. One such artist started a comment “flame” war on John’s site. He chastised John in public instead of in private as the Bible tells us to. The artist in question claims to be a Christian. He fails to see this is a community of Christians who love helping out others. He is also ignorant to the insane amount of free resources John has released (free) to the internet community through various outlets. Many of us, myself included, are very appreciative of John and his work.
Our economy, as Christians, is easy to take advantage of.
Out of love for Christ, we often give away our goods and services. I have benefited from this many times. I have also helped others to benefit from this as well. I have been taken advantage because of this. Sadly, I have taken advantage of others as well. There is a thin line we walk as Christians in terms of our labor. We have these gifts given to us which we should use to glorify God. Christians should be ready to sacrifice time, talent, and money to help others.
The last thing they should do is, turn someone down because it would “de-value” them.
This is the problem with the “no-spec” movement. They cannot stand the fact people would look at them as any less than they are worth (whatever that may be). They are more concerned with their appearance among men than their appearance to God. Instead of using their talents to further the kingdom, they are using it to fatten their wallets. Like I said, this is a fine line we walk. We should guard ourselved against abuse and being taken advantage of.
Anyone using even a little common sense could see John was not seeking to take advantage of anyone. Unfortunately, it appears most people do not have common sense. Even Christian artists who would rather profit off the Gospel rather than help a brother out.
Ok, I am wearing my flame proof clothing.
Fire when ready.
-Don-
