Ma Swe Swe, a 49-year-old from Myanmar, … like the others interviewed, says a day off is just one of the factors that keep her going. Being treated as part of the family is what she appreciates most. (Jeremy Lim, The Straits Times, March 10, 2012)
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11 NIV)
At first glance the fourth commandment is a command to stop working for a day. In truth, the commandments prescribe a rhythm for life. We are to work hard for six days, but we are commanded to rest on the seventh. R. Paul Stevens summarises why this rest is commanded.
Rest is a state of body, mind and soul that is essential for health, both physical and spiritual. It involves restoring balance, rejuvenating energies, regaining perspective, allowing our emotional energies to recover, being in harmony with our own bodies and, especially, enjoying God. (“Sabbath,” The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity, edited by Robert Banks & R. Paul Stevens, Singapore: Graceworks, 2011, 872.)
What is interesting is that this is not just a command for the Jews, it is also commanded for servants and foreigners. It is a basic human right. Indeed the Sabbath principle was already in place at creation, as the Exodus passage reminds us.
Fast forward over 2,000 years and you get to Singapore where, in early March 2012, the Ministry of Manpower announced that it would finally legislate to make it mandatory, from 2013 onwards, for foreign domestic workers to receive one rest day per week. As was to be expected, there were strident voices on both sides of the divide.
“‘It’s been 10 long years. After these 10 years, the effort we have put into lobbying has finally paid off, thanks to the partners we have worked with, including the domestic workers themselves,’ said [Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics] Home president Bridget Tan on Tuesday.” (Cheryl Ong, The Straits Times, March 7, 2012) An employer, however, when interviewed during a morning radio talk show, was noticeably upset when asked her views on the proposed legislation. She shared that her own work week was extremely long and tiring, and therefore her weekend rest was much needed in order for her to restore her physical and emotional energies. It did not seem to have occurred to her that the same could be said about her helper’s week as well.
What I have found troubling is the fact that many Christians also echo the sentiments voiced by the employer on the talk show. Some, understandably, are reacting because they have had errant domestic helpers who abused the grace shown by their employers. Others, on the basis of hearsay, want to pre-empt the possibility of trouble and hence keep their helpers within the confines of their homes.
I blush to admit that I have had occasion to worry and fret about my domestic helper turning rogue. It was tempting to rationalise the need for my helper to stay at home so that she would not go out into the big bad world and, gasp, meet dastardly male friends who would lead her astray. And, oh, the bliss of being able to sleep in and relax the whole of Sunday without worrying about the house, or the children, or our elderly parents. But, because I believe that the Word of God stands over my helper as it does over me, I have always chosen to give her a day off each week.
The differing nature of our work does not mean that mine has more value and hers less. We are each earning an honest living in order to provide for our families’ needs. If, as a Christian who is not to “conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2a) we continue to make judgement calls based on worldly values, how can we be part of God’s transforming vanguard in the world?
In case you think that I am being holier than thou, I need you to know that I have had to learn my lessons the hard way. So, I’m a fellow sinner saved by grace — a grace that then needs to be passed forward. My paranoia about errant helpers coloured my past choices as I strove to hedge my bets. I chose one particular nationality over another, because they were known to be more homely and therefore less likely to stray. I stipulated that I wanted only Christians to help me in my home. I made sure they went to church on their rest days. Did all this vaccinate me against trouble? The one helper I had who really broke my heart was of the “right” nationality and religiously showed me her church bulletins every Sunday. Lo and behold, after her husband insisted that she stopped work and returned to her homeland, I found out from other workers in our estate that this helper had been entertaining men in my home when the children had gone to school and hubby and I had gone to work. I was devastated.
Hey, how come my obedience to God’s Word didn’t guarantee me safety from heartache? We live in a fallen world, yes? And perhaps God was also teaching me a lesson about trusting in Him to provide, rather than depending on human wisdom and might.
So, with fear and trepidation, and much prayer, I decided to hire someone from the “more dangerous” nationality, who was not a believer. She ended up working in our household for 12 years and became very much a valued member of our family. Oh, and did I mention that she came to faith and even led a cell group for her compatriots in our home?