The Savor of Mustard

I was riding in a car across the city when my businessman friend explained that his labors had become very profitable. He went on to say he was about to squeeze another 15% out of his enterprise. “How so?” I queried. “My employees are making too much. I’m going to offer them a chance to keep their jobs if they agree to a 15% cut in pay. Otherwise I’ll replace them. And in this economy they don’t have many choices.”

I countered, “Why would you hurt the folks who are part of your team? You’ve already got more money than you need. That 15% cut will put pressure on marriages, cut out music lessons for children, eradicate retirement savings and hurt morale in your labor force.” My friend only glared at me.

And I will show you a still more excellent way… Norwich, England, 1851, post-industrial revolution Britain. There are still at that time no child labor laws. The rich get richer. The poor get poorer. Enter one Jeremiah Colman, age 24. He took over the family mustard-making business and its 200 employees. By 1898, 41 years later, Mr. Colman had grown the business ten-fold. His pot of fiery yellow condiment graced English tables, rich and poor, and supported over 2,000 jobs in Norwich. Against the norms of his day Mr. Colman cared for his workers. He started a school for the children of his laborers. This was 20 years before Great Britain offered public schools for all. He provided medical advice and a dispensary. Sick workers were sent packages of food. A savings plan was encouraged. And staff housing was available for fair rent.

When the British prime minister offered to make Colman a nobleman, he refused, preferring a much simpler life.

What drove Jeremiah Colman’s trailblazing sense of decency and fair play in the work world? It was not socialism or politics or government edict, but rather his devout Protestant Christian faith. Historically we call it the Protestant work ethic, the moral code of Christ when He said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

At Jeremiah Colman’s funeral in 1898 a congregation of 1,200 mourners paid their respects. Over 41 years of running his company he raised many thousands of lives from poverty to productivity in his corner of the world. He did it by making a quality product for a fair price manufactured by workers treated fairly.

Such pleases God.

The Reverend Stephen Crotts is pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Charlotte Court House, VA. He is also the director of the Carolina Study Center, Inc., a campus ministry, located in Chapel Hill, NC. Pastor Crotts may be reached at carolinastudycenter@msn.com.