Work vs. Prison

September 3, 1999
June 21, 2000

Perhaps you have seen the list making its way around the Internet about the differences and similarities between work and prison. And you might admit that there are some interesting parallels between life on the job and life behind bars. Here are just a few of the comparisons:

In prison, you spend the majority of your time in an 8-by-10 cell. At work, you spend most of your time in a 6-by-8 cubicle.
In prison, you get time off for good behavior. At work, you get rewarded for good behavior with more work.
In prison, you can watch television and play games. At work, you get fired for watching TV and playing games.
In prison, all expenses are paid by taxpayers, with no work required. At work, you get to pay all expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary in order to support prisoners.
In prison, you spend your life looking through bars from inside wanting to get out. At work, you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.
In prison, there are wardens who are often sadistic. At work, they are called supervisors.

Well, you get the idea. And many people are creating their own jail versus work comparisons. But even though meant to be humorous they do have a point: spending time in jail sounds better than working for a living. That’s why we should endorse Justice Fellowship’s goal to put non-violent offenders in work-related programs paying restitution to their victims. Sitting in prison does not develop a work ethic, and it doesn’t pay back the victim or society. When work sounds more like punishment and prison sounds more like a vacation, maybe our priorities are out of line.

I’m Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that’s my opinion.