You Get What you Pay For!

The office manager was angry. One of the front office employees and failed to collect a payment that was due and the patient had left the office without paying a significant balance on their account. She was planning on writing up the employee for the error, hoping to make an example of her. As far as the office manager was concerned mistakes like this could never happen.

I knew the employee well and knew that she did not have a pattern of making mistakes. She was typically conscientious and tried to do a good job. While I did not like the fact that charges were not collected I saw the situation differently. In my mind the employee had made an honest mistake. I said as much to the manager.

“We can’t have mistakes like this!” she replied.

“What do you think an acceptable error rate is for her job?” I asked. The manager looked befuddled. “Why zero, of course!” she replied.

“I can’t afford a zero error rate,” I explained. “perfection is expensive. You don’t get perfection for what we pay!” I reminded her that our front office staff consisted entirely of women with high school educations and a few years of experience in the medical field. They made an hourly wage of $12 (about $16 in today’s dollars). I reminded her of the adage, you get what you pay for.

15 years have passed and I am now in solo practice but I still get what I pay for. (Although I pay much more.) It is my desire to have the best office staff in town so I pay my staff handsomely. They make 30-50 percent more than what they would make in some other offices but their performance is exceptional. We are the top rated family practice office in town when it comes to customer service.

While the relationship between salary and performance is obvious it is often ignored. Every applicant I interview wants a high wage. Most do not understand the expectations that come with higher pay. I recently hired someone who had an impressive resume and wanted to start at $20 an hour. As this was above the rate I had budgeted for the position I told her she would need to excel. When her job performance was at a level consistent with someone new to the field with no experience we felt compelled to let her go. I was emotionally conflicted but knew that it made no sense to pay $20 for $12 worth of performance.

We live in a world where many believe they deserve to be paid a higher wage for many reasons other than performance. Longevity on the job, personal financial needs and even the profits of the company are all cited to support demands for higher salaries. For businessmen, none of this matters as much as return on investment. The question is always "Is the employee worth what we are paying?"

It is my belief that both employers and employees need to be realistic and fair in their expectations. I do not expect perfection, nor do I seek excellent employees at bargain rates. I expect to pay people what they are worth.

-          Bart

The Wrong Definition of Hate

 “You keep on using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means!” So said Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. In the movie he was speaking of the word “inconceivable.” He could say the same thing today about the word “hate.” When people disagree with one another over moral issuesthey no longer simply declare one another wrong, misguided or mistaken. The other side, most often the side supporting traditional values, is declared to be “hateful.”

I saw this recently in an unexpected place, a sports column on Yahoo. The author, Jay Busbee, wrote an article about the potential fallout resulting from the Georgia legislature’s passage of a bill protecting religious institutions and individuals who do not perform services that go against the tenets of their faith. The bill, HB 757, does not specifically address a particular service, but no one denies that it was designed to address potential recrimination against those who do not perform same sex weddings or allow the use of their facilities for that purpose, and for religious individuals such as florists, photographers, and bakers who similarly wish to decline participating in same sex ceremonies.

Mr. Busbee wrote that the city of Atlanta might lose out in its bids to host major sporting events such as the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Fours as a result of the legislation. In his article he made his thoughts about the legislation clear. He called the legislation a “so-called Religious Liberty bill” and said that the bill was “discrimination, plain and simple” and suggested that the bill arose out of “anger crossbred with fear.” He closed the piece by writing that Georgia is “The State Hanging on to Hate.”

It seems that in the eyes of Mr. Busbee (and those who think as he does) hate is the only possible motivation for those who do not want to participate in same sex wedding ceremonies. It is never a result of a kind and loving person following a sincerely held religious belief. He seems to be either ignorant or intolerant of what the Bible teaches on the subject. There are a number of passages (such as Romans 1) that communicate dire consequences for those who live contrary to the moral teachings of Scripture. He dismisses out of hand the idea that if someone believes a lifestyle to be harmful, refusing to participate in it or support itcould be construed asan act of love, not an act of hate. 

His words imply a profound disrespect of faith, a position that religious belief should not intrude into everyday life, endure beyond Sunday mornings or extend outside the walls of the church. To Mr. Busbee it seems religion is at its best quaint and at its worst evil. This is a convenient position to take, for when religious belief is marginalized, when it is considered to be mythical, false or deceptive, there is no need to respect its teachings or the people who follow them. We are reaching a point where our society respects an individual’s right to believe what they want but only respects the individual’s right to live according to those beliefs when they are inoffensive to others. Faith only matters in matters that are insignificant. When it comes to serious issues that impact society, faith is irrelevant.

The unpleasant truth overlooked by Mr. Busbee is that when acceptable religious practice is determined by those outside of the faith, faith loses its significance. If God exists, He by definition will not be bound by the values of any culture. Morality and righteousness will be determined by Him alone, independent of the desires, beliefs and practices of those He created. More significantly, when defined by God, morality does not change.

God does not change but societies do. As societies become more secular conflict between individuals of faith and society at large are increasingly likely, for people who truly believe will not likely yield. Mr. Busbee was correct in writing that there would be adverse consequences should the Georgia legislature side with those whose faith puts them in conflict with changing social values. As our society is evolving rapidly, these conflicts will become more frequent.

As people of faith find themselves in the minority they will also find themselves in increasing danger of being persecuted for their beliefs. Those who call religious liberty laws hateful and who threaten boycotts are inadvertently making the case for the proponents of religious liberty laws. It is a fear of recrimination and punishment, of being treated as if religious faith is hateful, that inspires such legislation. The Georgia law, and others like it,  was designed to protect people of faith from those who disagree with them. Calling the law hateful is a simplistic denial of this reality.

While there are compelling arguments on both sides of the debate it is important to remember that if we wish to be a truly tolerant society, tolerance will need to be bidirectional. If only one side of a debate is tolerated, tolerance does not exist.

-Bart

The Wrong Kind of Easter Message

They had a megaphone, held up sloppy handwritten signs and a GoPro camera and were shouting as church members walked by them on the way to the cars after Easter service. From a distance I could not tell what they were protesting about. I wondered if they were atheists are some anti-Christian cult. When I came even with the protesters I learned the cause was even more ridiculous. They were animal rights activists.

One of them called out to my wife, “Who died for you this morning?” Surprised, she gave the answer appropriate for the morning, “Jesus.” The protester clarified his “point", rephrasing the question, “Who did you eat this morning?” It took me a moment to realize that he was telling us that it was not right that animals die for our sustenance. He apparently believed that animals have feelings and desires, just like people do. He didn't know us, did not know if we were carnivorous or vegan, yet he was convinced that we were evildoers in need of nutritional repentance. 

He and his colleagues rained down taunts and jeers as people walked by. They were clearly not interested in dialogue. They only wanted to attack us for the wrongness of our thinking.

Among the claims I heard as we passed-

- Animals want to live just like people do.

- Animals want to be with their families too.

- Animals have feelings.

- Eating meat is tantamount to murder.

These claims were repeated over and over, in  loud voices and with condescending tones. The message they were trying to proclaim was not the message their audience received. They wanted us to believe that animals have rights and feelings. What we believed was that they were terribly misguided and deceived. 

Those who walked by them were Christians, people who hold to the biblical teaching that mankind is unique, that people alone are created in the image and likeness of God. Unlike animals, we alone possess body, soul and spirit. We alone have reason and creativity, we alone will live eternally. We all know that animals are not at all like us.

We also know that the Bible does not advocate for the vegan lifestyle. The Old Testament gives detailed instructions for offering animal sacrifices. The most holy feast in the nation of Israel, the Passover, involves a meal centered around a ceremonially killed, unblemished lamb. Jesus himself participated in the celebration of this feast. These facts did not stop them from condemning us as we walked by.

As I walked away I wondered what it was they were hoping to accomplish by their diatribe. They could not expect that anyone would be persuaded by their angry shouts. Increased volume does not make up for the ignorance of an argument. I suspect their goal was one shared by many political protesters, Facebook commenters and internet trolls. They wanted to feel morally superior. What they did not realize was that they were creating the same feelings in those who walked by.

- Bart

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The Foolish Immorality of Sean Penn

If you were given the opportunity to meet with a vicious criminal, a drug dealing murderer responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, a recent prison escapee who was a fugitive from justice and who had recently escaped from prison, what would you do?

If you are Sean Penn, you covertly accept the invitation and evade detection in order to meet with the man. You pose for pictures shaking his hand and write a story for a national magazine. You then give the criminal the final edit of the story so he can be sure he is portrayed in a favorable light.

And, because you are Sean Penn, you can be certain that you will face no criminal charges and will suffer no damage to your reputation or future acting opportunities as a result of your arrogance. In the western world, rules and laws are for the little people, not for celebrities.

As I read the story of Mr. Penn’s interview with the Mexican drug lord El Chapo I wondered how we arrived at such a place in our society. I am not so naïve as to expect perfection from famous people but I did expect them to possess some form of a moral compass, to care at least a little about being at least a little bit truthful or nice. I did not think that even the most low-life of celebrities would be supportive ofthe mass murdering head of adrug cartel.

I guess I was foolishly optimistic. I should have known that a man who had been fawned over for his entire adult life and whose talent gave him access to world leaders and power brokers would think he was entitled to meet with anyone he wanted for any reason at any time. Sean Penn was curious as to how a man like El Chapo came to be and his curiosity was all that mattered. Curiosity was more important than justice and fairness or right and wrong.

As I read about Penn and El Chapo the thought occurred to me that we may have cultivated a generation of Sean Penns. Many young people I meet are driven by personal desire more than they are by a moral code. There is no sense of duty to society as a whole orto anyone else individually. This is why so many in the current generation feel comfortable building up massive debt they do not plan to repay, using illegal drugs without regard for the law or future physical harm, orlying in order to get a job they want or a sexual partner they desire. Wanting something is what matters and when something is wanted there is no need to consider if it is right or wrong.

This type of thinking is the natural outcome of the post-modern thinking that dominates the modern world, a philosophy that denies the existence of absolute truth or a transcendent moral code. When we throw away external standards, when every person decides for themselves what is right and wrong, it should not surprise us if we are surrounded by fools like Sean Penn.

While there is nothing I can do to impact Mr. Penn's thinking, I am not hopeless. I have raised children who know the difference between right and wrong and I do all I can to remind others that absolute truth exists, that there is a God and that He has communicated His moral code to mankind. (I have even written a book about it!) The lie of post modernism needs to be exposed, countered and attacked. When truth is lost, only foolishness remains.

- Bart

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Photo by Seher Sikandar for rehes creative licensed through creative commons