Executive pay in the United States is, on average, 430 times greater than the wages of average workers. 430:1 is a startling ratio in a self-described classless society.

Are CEOs Overpaid, Andrew Shelansky’s post about the perceptual disconnect between those who take home the $430 and those who take home the dollar sketches the outline of what we used to refer to in the stockroom as a conundrum, by which I’m sure we meant a problem someone else should be working on. Well, it doesn’t appear anyone is taking responsibility for this particular conundrum. And, though Andrew is not too concerned about "two Americas," I confess that I am — because of just the sort of disconnect Andrew identified.

I fear we have lost or let slip away the sense of community that organizes peaceable societies.

An InsideWork friend recently sent us an impassioned reflection on the brokenness he feels — indeed sees — on the streets of his U.S. city:

…the physical ugliness of the cracking paint and broken windows, the rundown buildings and the despair on the faces of the hundreds of homeless and addicted wandering aimlessly on the sidewalks. The vividness of the poverty, addiction and pain framed by the peeling facades of the welfare hotels gives one the sense of a literal hell on earth. A place and people without hope, abandoned by a city awash in affluence.

…the block after block of depressed landscape is what overwhelms and discourages. A wasteland of the dispossessed and forgotten – people made in the image of God? How to reconcile the dissonance? It is almost too much to comprehend, too big a problem to solve. Sixth Street embodies in every way possible the concept of spiritual desolation taken to its visible extreme.

Benjamin Disraeli captured some of the same feeling in a passage from his 1845 novel Sybil or The Two Nations:

‘It is a community of purpose that constitutes society,’ continued the younger stranger; ‘without that, men may be drawn into contiguity, but they still continue virtually isolated.’

‘And is that their condition in cities?’

‘It is their condition everywhere; but in cities that condition is aggravated. A density of population implies a severer struggle for existence, and a consequent repulsion of elements brought into too close contact. In great cities men are brought together by the desire of gain. They are not in a state of cooperation, but of isolation, as to the making of fortunes; and for all the rest they are careless of neighbours. Christianity teaches us to love our neighbour as ourself; modern society acknowledges no neighbour.’

…

‘Well, society may be in its infancy,’ said Egremont slightly smiling; ‘but, say what you like, our Queen reigns over the greatest nation that ever existed.’

‘Which nation?’ asked the younger stranger, ‘for she reigns over two.’

The stranger paused; Egremont was silent, but looked inquiringly.

‘Yes,’ resumed the younger stranger after a moment’s interval. ‘Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws.’

‘You speak of —–’ said Egremont, hesitatingly.

‘THE RICH AND THE POOR.’

— Sybil or The Two Nations. Benjamin Disraeli. Macmillan. London. 1895. Page 74

British historian Tristram Hunt+ reports that Disraeli rode this theme all the way to No. 10 Downing Street, putting the Conservative Party in office after an protracted absence.

Our friend in the city is not seeking a political kingdom:

Jesus’ words at the very inception of his ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim FREEDOM FOR THE PRISONERS AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT FOR THE BLIND, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

He was talking about Sixth Street and its inhabitants (as well as you and I). His ministry prioritizes redemption and liberation where it is needed most and where people are desperate. Sure, Jesus would come to our “seeker-sensitive” outreaches further up the hill with the nice Chardonnay served, but I have a feeling he would spend even more time hanging out on Sixth Street. He seems to always gravitate to where people are aware of their brokenness with no props or pride to gloss it over.

. . .

What would it be like if Christians took on Sixth Street? (Let’s put to the side the shocking fact of how little we ARE doing currently, CityTeam and other impactful ministries aside). What if God raised up a group of followers to “redeem” Sixth Street block by block, building by building and person by person from Market Street all the way down to the 280 onramp? Not to create a Disneyland, but a livable, economically vibrant NEIGHBORHOOD renewed both in sight and in spirit. A restored and healed community. Sight to the blind, prisoners set free? . . . What if we began praying about this earnestly, believing Jesus’ words that “if you have faith and do not doubt . . . you can say to this mountain ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Yes, what if we prayed? What if we paid attention to what’s going on out our own windows. And what if we held each other — from the stock room to the executive suite — to account for a bottom line measured by more than dollars?

The ancient biblical texts are silent on recent business developments like CEOs and Directors’ Fees. We are left to extrapolate from what they do talk about. But where to begin? How about this for starters:

What does God require of you, the prophet Micah asked rhetorically, before answering his own question: but to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God (from Micah 6:8).

Wouldn’t that be an interesting template for a 360º performance evaluation?

Does our CEO act justly?

. . . love mercy?

. . . walk humbly with God?

What’s the evidence for this—and is this not good for business?

Show us a CEO who will take on that test and we’ll show you a business leader whose earnings no knowledgeable observer will challenge.

[+] Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2004, Opinion, page M.5