It's so gratifying to see people face to face who get to meet the

Hear, O children of justice, the words of Nell Newman, who spake with compassion: “It’s so gratifying to see people face to face who get to meet the people who are giving them a fair price for their work. They can now provide medical support for their kids, give them better education and in general have a better standard of living. God knows they deserve it.” In this utterance is a hymn to fairness, a cry for dignity, and a celebration of laborers long denied their rightful due. It is not the voice of distant abstraction, but of human encounter, where eyes meet eyes, and gratitude flows from the recognition of shared humanity.

The meaning of these words lies in the ancient truth that all labor, whether by hand or mind, is worthy of honor. For too long, the world has fattened itself on the sweat of the poor, offering them wages too meager to lift them from suffering. Newman rejoices not in charity, but in justice restored—in the sacred exchange where the worker receives a fair price for toil, and in return, dignity is reborn. When wages rise from exploitation to fairness, lives are transformed: children are healed, minds are educated, and futures are brightened.

Consider, my children, the tale of the cotton mill workers of nineteenth-century England, whose labor clothed nations, yet whose children starved in squalor. They toiled long hours under cruel overseers, their hands raw, their bodies bent, while the lords of industry amassed fortunes. Only when voices rose—through unions, reformers, and brave souls willing to challenge injustice—did the workers begin to receive wages that lifted them into dignity. This same spirit breathes in Newman’s words: the battle against exploitation is ancient, but the victory is always the same—justice granted where once only oppression reigned.

The origin of Newman’s vision springs from her work with fair trade and sustainable business, where buyers and sellers are not enemies but partners. She has seen with her own eyes the joy of farmers and artisans who, once trapped in poverty, now stand taller because someone recognized their worth. These words are not the cold theory of economics but the warm testimony of encounter: when the marketplace is guided by fairness, it ceases to be a place of oppression and becomes a place of mutual flourishing.

Let us not overlook the sacred weight of her closing words: “God knows they deserve it.” For indeed, it is not merely economic logic, but divine justice, that demands the poor be lifted up and the laborer rewarded fairly. To withhold just wages is to steal not only bread but dignity; to grant them is to affirm the worth of souls created equal. Newman’s exclamation is the echo of prophets ancient and modern, who thundered that the cries of the oppressed rise up to heaven, and that God Himself demands justice for the worker.

The lesson for us is clear: we must look not at goods alone, but at the faces behind them. Every garment, every fruit, every crafted tool comes from hands—hands that deserve not exploitation but dignity. The true measure of civilization is not the wealth of its rulers, but the fairness with which it treats its laborers. To give a fair price is to affirm that human life is more precious than profit, and that the purpose of wealth is not the hoarding of the few, but the flourishing of the many.

Practical actions lie before us: seek out goods born of fair trade, where the worker is honored, not cheated. Support systems of commerce that uplift communities rather than strip them bare. When you buy, let your money be not only a transaction but a declaration of justice. Teach your children that the value of an item lies not only in its shine or utility, but in the life it sustains. For each choice, each purchase, each act of fairness is a stone laid upon the road to justice.

Thus, O heirs of tomorrow, let Newman’s words be your guide. Let commerce be not exploitation but fellowship. Let wages be not chains but wings. And let us remember always: to honor the laborer is to honor humanity itself. In doing so, we sow the seeds of a world where children are healed, minds are educated, and lives are lifted into dignity—where God looks upon His creation and calls it good.