Wages Wouldn’t Be Withheld

Every Christmas, I watch the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey tries to keep a loan office open against the wishes of a banker who wants to close it. George wants to help the working people. One time, rumors spread that the loan office was going bankrupt. People rush in to cash their money, and George tries to cast away their fears and make them wait to withdraw their money. But one customer, Tom, wanted all his money withdrawn.

George to Tom: All right, Tom, how much do you need?

Tom: Two hundred and forty-two dollars!

George: Aw, Tom, just enough to tide you over till the bank reopens.

Tom: I’ll take two hundred and forty-two dollars.

George: There you are.

Tom: That’ll close my account.

George: Your account’s still here. That’s a loan.

In accounting and theology, vocabulary matters. One such word is misthos (μιστός), “wages.”

Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are my nephew, you will not serve for free. Tell me your wages (misthos)” (Gen 29:15). Pharoah’s daughter said to Moses’s mother: “Take his baby and nurse him. I will pay you your wages (misthos)” (Exod 2:9). The Levites’ wages (misthos) for serving in the temple were to eat the food – bread, meat, grains, etc. – on the altar (Numb 18:31). Paul said, “To the one who works, what is given is not considered a gift but wages (misthos) – what the master was obligated to give” (Rom 4:4). “The Scriptures say: Do not muzzle an ox while it’s treading, and workers deserve their wages (misthos) (1 Tim 5:18).

In Nazareth, Jesus continued his instructions to the disciples and said,

“Whoever provides a drink, a cup of water, to you, with the acknowledgment, ‘You are of Christ,’ truly I tell you: that person will not lose his/her wages (misthos).” (Mark 9:41)

“To lose one’s wages” was an abbreviation for getting fired. Anyone who offered a drink to the disciples because they acknowledged their loyalty to the Messiah and his servants, the disciples, wouldn’t jeopardize their job or labor, i.e., lose their wages.

Boaz saw Ruth in his field. He had heard what she had done for Naomi, his distant relative. He said to her:

“Daughter: don’t go and glean in other’s friends. Instead, stay here and work with my women. Keep your eyes on the field the men are harvesting and follow along with these women. I’ve warned those men not to lay a hand on you. When you are thirsty, go into the tent and drink from the water jars of the servants.” (Ruth 2:8–9)

In that culture, offering water to drink was a sign of being accepted as one of the servants in the field. When anyone accepted the disciples as servants of Christ by providing them water wouldn’t lose their job or wages.

The disciples needed this assurance as they traveled and ministered. Those who sided with the disciples because they acknowledged the disciples’ servitude to the Messiah wouldn’t jeopardize their livelihood. Jesus would protect them.

This principle still holds true: serving God’s children never leaves us in a bad situation. It only enhances or enriches our lives. That’s a promise from the Lord Jesus.