Creativity–A Gift from God

When the Haskon Aerospace plant in Taunton, Mass. shut down in October 100 workers lost their jobs. Many had worked at the facility for decades, making seals and gaskets for aircraft.

City leaders are considering an unusual measure to save the plant, which has been a staple in the community for 80 years, operating under the umbrellas of numerous corporate entities over the decades.

The Taunton City Council is exploring the possibility of exercising the power of eminent domain to take the machinery away from the parent company, Bellevue, Wash. based Esterline. The city would pay a fair price to prevent the equipment from being sold at an auction scheduled for December 14.

Former Haskon workers hope to raise the capital to buy it and run an employee owned operation or find a new corporation to take over the business.

A coworker of mine noted the creativity of this endeavor. I agree with him. In fact, governments area full of very bright, very creative people. So it never surprises me to see actions like this in government because God created man in His image and endowed all people–government employees as well–with a measure of His creativity to use when they face challenges. Normally, in a free market, the employment of that creativity works out to  the benefit of all because all the property and effort used in the process is voluntary. Not so in this case, where the government will use theft to supply the needed resources to carry out this project.

Creativity is a beautiful gift from God, but just like with all of His gifts, we are required to use them wisely for His glory and our good.