Though I weary a bit from reading all these laws, I did find verse 4 intriguing. Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
I guess since this is a written law people would in fact muzzle oxen as they were working. Not having worked on a farm I don’t know about this practice. Do oxen eat much of the grain they are treading?
Interestingly Paul cites this verse twice, in 1Corinthians and 1Timothy. Both times he uses it to make the case for paying a fair wage to those dedicated to the Gospel ministry. Paul uses it more as a general principle than its specific intention. This got me thinking about it as a general principle.
Pay people a fair wage, or another way of stating it might be, let people earn a living from their work.
There is a growing debate in my country about what constitutes a livable wage. I don’t know the economics of the debate and I certainly wouldn’t attempt to speak on that topic. However, it seems that an extension of this general principle is that workers should receive a fair wage for their work.
In the 1Timothy 5:4 passage Paul continues that the worker deserves his wages. Paul’s word targets those who preach and teach, but again it seems like a statement that can be extrapolated to the general workforce.
I am wondering if we, who are Christ followers, shouldn’t be leading the vanguard for fair and livable wages for workers…
I don’t know, maybe I have strayed too far in my thoughts today, but it seems like we Christ followers should be the ones who sacrifice a bit of our grain to make sure our workers eat.
Lord, correct me if I have strayed from Your heartbeat today. Reinforce my understanding if I am close to Your heartbeat. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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