Loving Our Neighbor (Our Employee) As Ourself
By Partner Nicholas Krygier
When Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”, He didn’t answer with a parable or a riddle. He spoke plainly:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36–40)
Jesus rarely spoke in hierarchies, and yet here He does. He says the greatest commandment is to love God—and the second, inseparable from it, is to love our neighbor as ourselves. But what does that mean when our neighbor is on our payroll?
Recently, I was talking with another business owner who was distraught over having to let go of a mid-level manager he called a “friend.” The manager had faithfully worked in the business with a smile since its opening. But with a tighter economy and slightly slipping performance, cuts “had” to be made.
Or did they?
Would we want to get laid off in a tough economy right before the holidays?
It raises the question: What is our responsibility as Christ-followers when it comes to loving our neighbor as ourselves—when that “neighbor” is our employee? Do the rules change for us as owners because of this unique relationship?
When I asked my friend if he truly had to let this manager go, he shared the importance of being a good steward—as much as it pained him. And I have to credit him: he really was a good steward of the business. Most companies simply cannot withstand high salaries for roles the business can’t sustain in tough times. And that decision does make sense if you want the business to survive -- and to continue doing the good work it was doing.
But how often do we stop in the middle of an important decision to ask: “Lord, what do You want?”
I’m the first to admit, it’s so easy to fall into the routine of best practices and worldly wisdom when making operational decisions. Buy this piece of equipment that will make us more efficient, and cut that. Hire James—fire John.
Or rather, start building an airtight case against John, documenting everything along the way so we can let him go with a minimized chance of repercussion—because an avoidable lawsuit certainly isn’t “best for the business” or “good stewardship.”
If I’m honest, I rarely look to God for direction on some of my business’s most important decisions. “Why look to Him when I already know the answer?” I mutter pridefully in my subconscious. 2+2 isn’t something we need to pray over. And neither are many of the other problems rooted in math and time and science that we solve daily.
But when we’re analyzing data on a spreadsheet, we’re always solving for something. Most of the time, we’re working to make X, Y, or Z larger or smaller than they currently are. When you zoom out far enough, though—if you have the courage to be honest—what we’re usually solving for is more profit. And profit isn’t evil, but it is a terrible north star.
The question is: When we’re truly honest with ourselves, how much are we working for God, and how much are we working for ourselves? They can both exist at the same time.
“But wait! I only want more profit so I can do more good!” That’s at least what I told myself. “The bigger the business gets, the more generous I can be.”
In many ways, that is genuinely good. God can be glorified by the works of our hands that we’ve built together with Him. Just as the wealth and wisdom of Solomon were a testament to God’s glory, so can the wealth we’ve been given and stewarded well in this life—if we continually recognize that it is His and His alone.
And yet—oh, how deceptive greed and selfish ambition can be. One of the ways I’ve continually seen it pop up in my life is when I realize how rarely I’m inquiring of God for the small decisions -- let alone the ones that profoundly affect my neighbor, like having to let them go.
The worldly belief that whatever we’re doing—no matter the outcome or the good it provides for others—must always grow, or at least stay steady, is the belief and value system of our culture, not of our Father. Even the pagans do good. And the corporate choice to lay someone off as the solution to our profit problem (even for “good” purposes) is rarely in pursuit of the one—leaving the ninety-nine behind.
More often, we choose the ninety-nine—the group that also conveniently includes ourselves—over the one.
There is a kind of wisdom in that logic that the world applauds. But Jesus constantly warns us that the wisdom of this age can be foolish in God’s eyes if the love of Him -- and secondly, your neighbor -- isn’t at the center.
Given the importance Jesus places on these two greatest commandments, we must wrestle with God on this question:
“How am I loving my neighbor? — The neighbor You’ve said is at the core of the second greatest commandment of all?”
And here again, I commend my friend. He did not act ruthlessly. He offered a generous severance and treated his employee as a friend, as a neighbor for whom he had genuine compassion. Sometimes, even after we pray and seek counsel, God may still lead us into painful pruning for the sake of the business and the people it serves. In fact, this may be the outcome the majority of the time. The issue is not that pruning is wrong; the issue is whether we’ve actually sought the Lord, or simply defaulted to what feels obvious.
Saying Yes To God When The Mind Says No
I had one person from church approach me about a job last year, and when I asked about his availability, he said he could work one day a week. I paused. I wasn’t looking for an employee who can only work one day a week. As I leaned back, ready to say ‘no,’ I felt it in my heart: ‘I love him.’ That’s the only way I can describe it—straight into my chest. I imagined all the problems it would cause, and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling. So I brought him on.
While it did cause problems, there was almost always one extra busy day a week—and without him, we wouldn’t have been able to do the work. With someone else in that role, they’d have been sitting around the other four days.
A few months go by, and we’re awarded the biggest job our company has ever seen. Three days’ work, all hands on deck. Surely this employee was going to understand how much I’ve been there for him, how much we’ve helped him in ways that others wouldn’t.
The answer was no, with a torn smile. And I hated him for it. I wanted to fire him. This guy doesn’t appreciate the way I’ve bent over and backwards for him. Nobody else would have done that for him, and he can’t even meet me halfway?! Come on, dude.
And then, when I turned to God and asked for His guidance, I felt it again. It was almost as if I were imagining the Holy Spirit preventing Paul from going to Asia. “Don’t go there,” it felt like. A brick wall, almost. “I love him.” And after a bit of huffing and puffing, I inevitably relented.
We showed up on site, and it turns out the project scope was much smaller than anticipated, while the pay remained the same. Turns out we didn’t even need him. All glory to God.
The Learnings
If we’re not turning to Him in these types of decisions that so profoundly affect our neighbor (our employees), every time, we’re missing out at the very least. God loves us all more than we will ever know, and we are called to be good stewards of all that is entrusted to us -- including the people we’re in many ways responsible for.
If we’re not turning to Him for these types of matters, I implore us all to look inside.
Is there selfish ambition or hidden greed at work here? Am I afraid to inquire of Him because I’m afraid of the answer? Would I rather just keep ‘doing the good I’m doing’ and dig my head in the sand? Have I truly hardened my heart towards my neighbor?
When God puts on our heart an impossible solution, like keeping on an employee longer than worldly wisdom would suggest, we must not forget who our God is.
He is the way maker. But sometimes, the way He makes is different from the path the spreadsheet predicts. Sometimes, he sustains a role we thought we’d have to cut. Other times, He leads us to release someone, but with a generosity, creativity, and love that could only have come from Him.
So let us inquire of God in all things—in personal and in business matters. Let us have the courage to hear His voice and act in faith first, even when it seems to oppose our “obvious” worldly wisdom. And when we don’t clearly hear His voice, let us act shrewdly and in love, using all the gifts He’s given us, but still submitted to Him.
Practically, that might look like pausing before any decision that significantly impacts an employee (a neighbor) and asking:
Have I honestly asked God what He wants here?
Am I willing to sacrifice personally before sacrificing this person?
Have I explored creative alternatives besides simple termination?
If I must let them go, am I doing it in a way that clearly reflects love of neighbor, not just protection of the bottom line?
And lastly, am I willing to respond in faith if I sense the Spirit leading me toward a decision I don’t fully understand, or that contradicts my own wisdom?
Let us discern His will from all the noise—from self-deception, greed, pride, and selfish ambition that pursue us every morning. And most of all, in our leadership and our businesses, let Him be glorified.
About The Author: Nicholas Krygier
Nick Krygier is the owner of a hauling and property services company, American River Hauling and Junk Removal Co. He and his wife, Alyssa, attend Oak Hills Church in Folsom, where Alyssa is the Youth Pastor. Nick also has consulting clients for digital marketing, including Google Ads, SEO, web design, and more. In his spare time, Nick enjoys writing novels.