"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

Do not say to your neighbor, come back later; I'll give it tomorrow - when you now have it with you. " Proverbs 3: 27,28

I had the privilege of working with my Dad after graduating from college. He was a homebuilder and had instilled those same desires in me. My Dad was a stickler about paying his bills. As soon as it hit the desk he wanted it paid, never mind the practice of paying all bills on the 10th of the month. A lot of those bills were from small businesses that had done some work for us in our homebuilding business. I remember him saying that most of these people lived from week to week on these pay checks. He never made an issue of it, but I knew that his attitude was to help them by paying immediately.

That was one way I saw my Dad try to help those in his circle of influence. After he had passed away, a couple of folk came by our office to relay to me how he  had helped them out financially in their times of need. One man relayed how he saw my dad pulling out of his drive way and as he went out to try and catch him, he found several sacks of groceries sitting on the porch. 

There was a well known commercial contracting firm in Charlotte a few years back that took an opposite position on paying their sub-contractors. In the Charlotte area, they were known for delaying payment of  their bills until the last possible time. In fact, they would beat the other company down on the agreed price for the job before writing the check. They developed the reputation of "breaking" a lot of small sub-contractors in the area. 

I have a friend who owns a fairly large company. My friend not only takes his financial responsibilities very seriously, but he tries to handle all situations as Christ would handle them. He pays his people, both employees and suppliers, with the attitude of representing Christ in the market place. In fact, his mission statement for the company reflects this, not only on all company publications, but it is practiced every day in action. He considers his responsibility to not only meet the financial needs of all the people with-whom he does business, but also to meet the emotional and spiritual needs as well. God has blessed him in such a way that he is able to keep a full time pastor as part of the staff. At the end of the year he measures his company not only by it's profits, but by the number of people who were brought closer to Christ through the company.    

Meeting the needs of others can sometimes offer a challenge to our principles. It is customary practice today when dismissing someone to literally escort them immediately out the door. There are legitimate reasons for which we should take legal responsibilities in this matter. The question arises - what should be our responsibility to those after the termination? There are companies who practice various means of meeting the needs of those who have been dismissed. They provide counseling, severance pay, job training, and letters of recommendation as well as other assistance. Consideration in every case has to be given to the impact any action might have on the company. But, should we also take in consideration the impact our necessary action has on the people involved and how our position reflects the kingdom of God?  

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen from me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4: 8 -9