Read Proverbs 22:16
The primary purpose of the book of Proverbs is to teach wisdom and this week’s Scripture gives us great insight into being successful in the marketplace. The verse tells us how to avoid poverty if we heed two valuable pieces of advice. First, if an individual such as a business owner cultivates environments that cause hardships on the poor, then he will eventually experience poverty. We see this in our environment in which the working class works some of the most challenging jobs in the healthcare environment just as janitorial and food service workers and they earn the least amount of money, while the employer earns significant profits. Moreover, the text also tells us that one can experience poverty if he gives to the rich. This sounds logical as the rich people have it made and certainly do not need someone to give to them. Thus, if someone makes a poor decision in giving their wealth or possessions to the rich, he may more than likely make other foolish decisions, which leads him in squandering his assets and experiencing poverty.
Our Scripture is applicable to our learning in the first week about health economics. In the discussion above about the employer and employees, the employer could be a healthcare provider such as a hospital or nursing home, which employs janitors and cafeteria workers. In economics, we examine the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. If the employer does not offer a fair wage that helps the employee to adequately pay his bills, then the person would experience hardship in purchasing and consuming goods and services such as rent/mortgage, utility, gas, food, entertainment, and prescription drugs. To offer another example, if the employer does not make good business decisions by searching for the best price, it could be spending a lot of money on goods from its distributor who makes a fortune from various health providers. This reflects the one who gives to the rich, which is an unwise decision. On the other hand, providers partnering with other providers to leverage their purchasing power are better able to negotiate lower prices, which help them to increase their profitability and are better positioned to offer their frontline employees competitive wages.
In reflecting on the Scripture and the introduction to this week’s learning, I am reminded about the need to make sound business decisions as we will live with the consequences of those decisions. Whether we are negotiating a multimillion dollar business deal for our employer or making a decision about an expensive investment such as the purchase of a home or an automobile, we must make wise decisions. This is significant as we do not want to experience poverty because we are poor stewards of the resources.
As you embark upon the learning for the week, I challenge you to consider the following questions.
- What ways can you bring God the glory in improving the overall financial efficiency of the healthcare system?
- In considering supply and demand, how can you effectuate change that ultimately improves the health outcomes of the indigent population?
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