Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
I Corinthians 3:7-9
Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
I Corinthians 15:58
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
As you read about and watch the demonstrations and disputes in Wisconsin, you may wonder where the church stands in this.
The history of the Church in relation to labor is less than perfect. And that is particularly true for Protestant Churches.
Historically Protestants have tended to line up on the side of the employers. There was a natural affinity because the factory owners were often Protestant, and the workers were often Roman Catholic.
A partial exception to this pattern is found in the many Methodist Churches that sprang up in mill towns across New England. In the classic pattern there is a large majestic Congregational Church on the village green, and then down a side street and across the river by the factory there is a little Methodist Church. But even in those churches, which were sometimes supported and maintained by the mill owners, the preaching on economic issues was kind to the employers and skeptical of the workers.
In spite of that history, most Protestant Churches adopted a Social Creed around the turn of the last century. And most of those Creeds supported the rights of workers to organize and engage in collective bargaining. The Methodist Church adopted a Social Creed in 1908 and has consistently affirmed the rights of workers.
The original Creed called for the “abolition of child labor, the suppression of the “sweating system,” and “for the protection of the worker from dangerous machinery, occupational diseases, injuries and mortality.”
And then there is this remarkable statement. In that document from over a hundred years ago, the church declared its support “For the highest wage that each industry can afford, and for the most equitable division of the products of industry that can ultimately be devised.” In our “winner take all” economics of today, we probably need a footnote that makes clear they meant the workers and not the owners. The goal of responsible Christians, they believed, was for workers to be paid as much as possible within the limits of a given industrial context. And for the benefits of industry to be equitably (not “equally”) divided for the benefit of society.
None of this gives us specific direction in Wisconsin. It gives broad context and it gives us a general direction. There is room for argument in the details of pensions, health insurance payments, salaries, and working conditions. And we may disagree on the definition of “afford.”
But within the details there is a critical principle which is in danger, and that is the right to collective bargaining. Without the right to collective bargaining, labor is at an overwhelming disadvantage.
In spite of Jesus’ concern for those at the bottom of the economic scale, Christians in the United State have raised little objection to the vast income redistribution from the bottom to the top over the past thirty years. The elimination of collective bargaining is one more way to make that shifting permanent.
I Corinthians 3:7-9
Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
I Corinthians 15:58
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
As you read about and watch the demonstrations and disputes in Wisconsin, you may wonder where the church stands in this.
The history of the Church in relation to labor is less than perfect. And that is particularly true for Protestant Churches.
Historically Protestants have tended to line up on the side of the employers. There was a natural affinity because the factory owners were often Protestant, and the workers were often Roman Catholic.
A partial exception to this pattern is found in the many Methodist Churches that sprang up in mill towns across New England. In the classic pattern there is a large majestic Congregational Church on the village green, and then down a side street and across the river by the factory there is a little Methodist Church. But even in those churches, which were sometimes supported and maintained by the mill owners, the preaching on economic issues was kind to the employers and skeptical of the workers.
In spite of that history, most Protestant Churches adopted a Social Creed around the turn of the last century. And most of those Creeds supported the rights of workers to organize and engage in collective bargaining. The Methodist Church adopted a Social Creed in 1908 and has consistently affirmed the rights of workers.
The original Creed called for the “abolition of child labor, the suppression of the “sweating system,” and “for the protection of the worker from dangerous machinery, occupational diseases, injuries and mortality.”
And then there is this remarkable statement. In that document from over a hundred years ago, the church declared its support “For the highest wage that each industry can afford, and for the most equitable division of the products of industry that can ultimately be devised.” In our “winner take all” economics of today, we probably need a footnote that makes clear they meant the workers and not the owners. The goal of responsible Christians, they believed, was for workers to be paid as much as possible within the limits of a given industrial context. And for the benefits of industry to be equitably (not “equally”) divided for the benefit of society.
None of this gives us specific direction in Wisconsin. It gives broad context and it gives us a general direction. There is room for argument in the details of pensions, health insurance payments, salaries, and working conditions. And we may disagree on the definition of “afford.”
But within the details there is a critical principle which is in danger, and that is the right to collective bargaining. Without the right to collective bargaining, labor is at an overwhelming disadvantage.
In spite of Jesus’ concern for those at the bottom of the economic scale, Christians in the United State have raised little objection to the vast income redistribution from the bottom to the top over the past thirty years. The elimination of collective bargaining is one more way to make that shifting permanent.
The issues today are complex and controversial, just as they were in 1908. The original Social Creed ends with the declaration that the Methodist Church stands "For the recognition of the Golden Rule and the mind of Christ as the supreme law of society and the sure remedy for all social ills." By saying that, they did not mean that we should write Jesus's teachings into our laws. They meant that as we write our laws and confront the issues of our time, we should remember who we are and whose we are.
(The Methodist Social Creeds from 1908 and 2008 are printed below)
1908 Methodist Social Creed
The Methodist Episcopal Church stands:
For equal rights and complete justice for all men in all stations of life.
For the principles of conciliation and arbitration in industrial dissensions.
For the protection of the worker from dangerous machinery, occupational diseases, injuries and mortality.
For the abolition of child labor.
For such regulation of the conditions of labor for women as shall safeguard the physical and moral health of the community.
For the suppression of the "sweating system."
For the gradual and reasonable reduction of the hours of labor to the lowest practical point, with work for all; and for that degree of leisure for all which is the condition of the highest human life.
For a release for [from] employment one day in seven.
For a living wage in every industry.
For the highest wage that each industry can afford, and for the most equitable division of the products of industry that can ultimately be devised.
For the recognition of the Golden Rule and the mind of Christ as the supreme law of society and the sure remedy for all social ills.
2008 United Methodist Social Creed
We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.
We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.
We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.
We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.
We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.
We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.
(It is recommended that this statement of Social Principles be continually available to United Methodist Christians and that it be emphasized regularly in every congregation. It is further recommended that "Our Social Creed" be frequently used in Sunday worship.)
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2000. Copyright 2000 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
2008 United Methodist Social Creed
We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.
We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.
We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.
We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.
We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.
We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.
(It is recommended that this statement of Social Principles be continually available to United Methodist Christians and that it be emphasized regularly in every congregation. It is further recommended that "Our Social Creed" be frequently used in Sunday worship.)
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2000. Copyright 2000 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
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