“They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.” (2 Peter 2:15)
We must be so careful when we have a choice of the kind of work we do for a living or the kind of employer who employs us. I remember agonising over my line of work decision and I remember the choices of jobs when I was young and unemployed. I tried selling double-glazed windows but they insisted I must lie to potential customers to secure a follow-up visit. I tried scientific lab work but they insisted I must experiment on live animals. I tried IT consultancy and did well for years but it got nasty when foreign not 100% friendly countries wanted ability to control our sensitive document systems. I was very zealous for following Christian gospel teachings in my work and it ruled out so many jobs. Yet now, looking back after forty years of work, it was good to shun any work where wickedness was necessary to earn the wage. Do governments sympathise with this? Do workforce leaders, leaders of industry and heads of government departments influencing work available to us realise that wickedness pays a wage but destroys the moral wellbeing of the worker of that wickedness and threatens to undermine the ways of righteousness laid down by the One True God? Like Balaam mentioned in scripture, it is too easy to start life with good intentions but become professionally wicked. So many professions today involve wickedness. But the answer of society is to tell us there is no such thing as wickedness or righteousness and we should: “Just do your job!”
