Compassion Loses Its Compassion

Well it seems that even so-called "Christian" organizations are not immune to the lustful greed prevalent in large multinational corporations. Could it be that the bigger they get, the more they resemble the world?

Throughout this month and possibly beyond, Compassion International will be laying off its IT staff in Colorado so they can outsource to Red China where the work is substantially cheaper. Of course we’ve come to expect this kind of behavior from the secular world, but is it really appropriate for a parachurch organization to behave this way?

There is little more frustrating than to be forced to train your replacements and this company in particular has apparently forsaken it's namesake in pursuit of the "bottom line". Clearly, Compassion International has more compassion for the children their ministry supports than it does for the Christians working there. And apparently it also values enemy China more as well.

So how is a Christian supposed to react to this?

Now I'm not saying that nobody should ever be laid off if there is a business failure eminent or for good cause. I’m sure the decision makers will tell you they have no choice; that they must remain "competitive". And it may be that these job terminations are a combination of circumstances, most likely poor planning and management incompetence. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

I've heard more than one Christian applaud outsourcing decisions describing them as being "shrewd". They may even say the company is "doing God's will" because donor's dollars become more efficient and that way more poor people can be helped.

Let's examine that last thought (and please excuse me while I swallow the vomit in the back of my throat). Are Christians to be "shrewd"? Are they to take from one people to give to another - taking even from their own brothers?

Sure, we are to feed the poor and widows. But are we to accomplish that by harming others - especially other Christians? What do the scriptures say about this?