The Dollar Dropped our Standards

The title of this article may sound like it should appear in the Business and Investment section, and I almost did that, but the true subject is about so much more than money.  Before the American dollar became the standard for business, there was gold, silver, product, and service.  Money was not the goal!  Even gold and silver were only valuable if you needed to purchase land or needed a product or service for which you had no barter exchange to offer.  Money was only used if you had nothing of value to exchange!  There is a growing awareness in this country that certain voices of reason and faith have been silenced.  Although I would agree with the current observation, I think we're mistaken in the cause.  Scripture tells us the love of money is the root of all evil, which in America translates to the love of the dollar is the root of all of our social problems.

When our society moved from raising produce and providing services to just making money, we changed a great many standards.  The main one happened long before the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in school.  Although the day had already been changed from Sabbath to Sunday, most Americans still ceased from their labor on Sunday.  It was the wrong day, but at least there was an effort to set one day apart.  A farmer could cease from working one day with his crops and herds, and much of the industrial revolution still offered the national set aside day of Sunday, as a day off, but . . . along came overtime.  Retail stores were closed and many states, my own included, had what was called a Blue Law a.k.a. Sunday law.

Overtime crept in so subtly and it was always out of "necessity," but . . . it also came with pay incentive.  Overtime pay meant a wage differential and that meant more money for working on that set apart day.  Since Sabbath had been changed, Saturday was usually only time and a half, but Sunday was double time.  Once everyone justified that their particular job was a necessity to the wellbeing of someone else, working weekends became justified if the opportunity arose.  Once a willingness to work weekends was established, two things transpired.  Overtime pay for holidays gained an even greater wage differential in some careers, while for others Saturday and Sunday simply became another work day.

Whether it was a good career of M-F with increased income on weekend overtime or a career in which the days of the week no longer made a difference, both classes of workers became enslaved.  Those who gained great increase couldn't get enough, and those whose schedules required straight pay for weekends couldn't say no, and maintain employment.   America had already missed the mark by laboring and conducting business on Sabbath, but for many that was done in ignorance, while they did still honor a set apart day.

When American workers chose money over any set apart day and justified it with self importance and martyred indispensability, the dollar became the standard of the value of time and the value of a worker.  Ignorance of the Truth was replaced with a disregard of the Word of our Creator.