Pay Them on Friday

My boys,

Today is Friday.

Friday is payday at the shop.

It has been payday at the shop every Friday since the first week we had anyone to pay.

I want to tell you why that matters more to me than almost anything else on the calendar.

In the early years, there were weeks when the money was thin.

Very thin.

There were Fridays when I knew that if I paid everyone, there would be nothing left for me.

I paid them anyway.

Not because I am a hero.

Because I had already been on the other side of it.

When I was young I worked for a man who paid late.

Never very late.

A few days.

A week sometimes.

Always with a good reason.

And every time, I had to decide which of my own bills would wait while I waited for him.

He never knew that.

He never thought about it.

To him, it was a few days.

To me, it was rent.

I have learned that a man who holds back what someone has earned is taking something, even if he gives it back later.

He is taking their peace.

Their plans.

Their trust.

And he is usually taking it from someone with less room to wait than he has.

So I made a rule before I ever had a payroll.

The people who do the work get paid first.

In full.

On the day they were promised.

Then the suppliers.

Then me.

It is not always comfortable.

But it is simple.

And simple rules hold up better on hard weeks than good intentions do.

This is not only about money, my boys.

It is about anything you owe.

The tool you borrowed.

The reply you promised.

The favor somebody did for you that you said you would return.

Settle it.

Do not make people chase what is already theirs.

I have discovered that God is very generous with me, and very prompt.

The sun has come up every morning I have been alive.

On time.

I would like to treat the people who work beside me a little more like that.

Tonight the envelopes are gone from the desk.

Every one of them where it belongs.

And I will sleep well.

I love you.

— Baba

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Question: Is there anyone waiting on something you owe them — money, a reply, a thank you — that you could settle this week?

Moral: Pay people what they have earned, in full and on time, before you pay yourself; making someone wait for their wages is a quiet kind of taking.

Disclaimer: This story reflects real experiences and philosophies behind Backyard Brew. It is shared to inspire perspective and intention.

Author: R. Solace