Late Payments - 'Honesty and Integrity’ Series

Good day,

May God's peace and blessings be with you.

It's wonderful that you've found your way to this post in the 'Honesty and Integrity' series today. In this series, we look at different business practices and examine whether they are in line with the business principles of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In this post we will have a look at timely payment of employees, freelancers, and suppliers. Late payments or incorrect payments have been a persistent social issue throughout human history.

There are no reliable global statistics regarding timely payment available, but there a few local ones from around the globe that show that late payments happen quite frequently and affect quite a few employees, freelancers and suppliers. Freelancers and suppliers seem to be most prone to late payments. The negative economic and financial effects are not only felt by the employee, freelancer or supplier itself, but by everyone connected to them, ranging from employees, families, and other suppliers that depend on the flow of money along the value chains.

Paying a bill on time has a far-reaching effect and affects more people than you might initially realize.

The reasons for late payments can be many, ranging from lack of liquidity, simply forgetting the payment date, mistakes in reading and capturing invoices etc. to conscious exploitation. Conscious exploitation is a topic on its own that would need to be touched in a separate article.

The Old Testament takes a clear stand on timely payments, which is echoed in the New Testament as well. The Bible emphasizes the importance of treating employees, freelancers, and suppliers with respect, making sure that they receive their due compensation without delay. Through this the principles of justice, fairness, generosity, responsibility, and compassion are upheld and love to your neighbor is shown. By acting justly and promptly we recognize the immediate need of your neighbor for continuity and the potential hardship a delayed payment would cause among our neighbors.

Here are a few verses from the Old Testament to reflect about. When reading them, please remember that these were written in a different social setting than we are living in today. Employees, freelancers, and suppliers might not be poor, but still they are vulnerable and rely on the agreement made with you for renumeration to sustain their livelihoods.

Leviticus 19:13 (ESV) “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.”

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 (ESV) “(14) You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. (15) You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you guilty of sin.”

Proverbs 3:27-28 (ESV) “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. (28) Do not say to your neighbor, “Go and come again, tomorrow I will give it” – when you have it with you.”

Paying on time is one aspect of contributing to upholding the values of the kingdom our present-day lives, enabling us to contribute to a more just, equitable and fair society. By paying in time we show love for our neighbors and the communities we participate in. We reflect God’s righteousness and care for the vulnerbale.

Kingdom business relationships provide a win-win for the service provider and the service recipient. It is never set-up for one person to prosper at the expense of the other person.

Salt 🧂: Reliability, Responsibility, Integrity, Justice

Light 🕯️: Justice, Righteousness, Love for our Neighbor