"The wealth of a country does not determine the separate, unequal wealth of the individuals in that country. Talents and skills and the ability to perform them are what generate and determine income and better status. In order to gain that status, a level of economic virtue must be attained. And that can only happen when an individual is honest, trustworthy, honorable, and willing to have God participate in every part of life.
“Unequal distribution
of wealth” means that not everyone is going to have the same amount of money in
his or her bank account, and some might not even have a bank account. This
week’s readings tell us “…in a society made up of people with different talents,
abilities, and interests, the market naturally delivers economic rewards
unequally.” It’s very true. For example, I teach piano lessons to multiple
beginner students. However, because I am not as talented as other teachers, I
can only charge a small amount of money for my lessons. My music mentor, on the other hand, has been playing the piano ever
since he was very young and he is now in his 50’s-60’s. He is a master at the
piano. Because of his skill, he can teach lessons and charge a lot more for his
lessons.
For a society to have
economic virtue it must be moral. Morality is following God’s definition of
what is right or wrong. The scriptures say, “thou shalt not steal” as part of
God’s laws. For many people, it is easy
to see business and church as different areas of life. Yet, many people also
have a hard time seeing a separation of the two. They are intertwined and help
create an environment where honesty can survive and thrive. It is impossible to
separate God from certain parts of life and keep him in others. He is in
everything that happens. When a member of the bishopric asks in a temple recommend
interview, “Are you honest in your dealings with your fellow men?” all church members
should always be able to say, “Yes, I am.” When God is kept in every area of
life, people should have no need to be dishonest and can have integrity with
anyone and in any situation that can happen.
My family and I are in Kenya
right now to do some training and while we’ve been here, I’ve been able to
witness a lack of economic virtue first hand. Most of the people in Kenya are
very religious, Catholic and Protestant. But when it comes to marketing,
honesty in business is the furthest thing from their mind. They immediately
inflate normal price, especially for Americans. A pair of leather/used tire
sandals is normally only 600 Kenyan shillings (100 shillings = $1). A vendor
who was selling them wanted to charge me 6,000 KSH ($60) for one pair. She claimed
the big markets sold them for 10,000 KSH ($100). I knew for a fact that that
was a lie. I finally talked her down to 1,600 KSH, which was still a rip-off. I
was somewhat shocked that these Christian people would be willing to lie about the
price of what they were selling and not feel that they had to account to God
for it.
Contradicting that setting,
our guide and event coordinator for our trip is a businesswoman and she and her
coworkers have prayer every morning, noon, and evening in their office and God
is in everything they do.
As a Latter-Day Saint, I
believe that God should not be separated from daily life. Whether it’s liked or
not, He is in and a part of everything. He is the reason we have an economy to
begin with. The virtue within it has degraded because of the corrupt people
that have risen to leadership positions. God is not the issue. It is the state
in which the human heart is within each person that must be fixed. And the only
way to have a change of heart is to come unto Christ the Lord, our Savior and
Redeemer. Having His guidance and influence is worth any sacrifice that has to be
made in an unrighteous economy."
