Excerpt from Exodus 16:27-35

"The Lord has given you the sabbath…each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day."

Reflection by Quinn G. Caldwell

One hundred years ago today, a fire broke out in a New York City sweatshop. Before it was all over, almost 150 women were dead, having burned, asphyxiated, fallen from a faulty fire escape, or jumped. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is still one of the worst industrial disasters in US history.

Investigators later discovered that the foreman had locked exit stairwells to keep the women at work longer. Public outrage led to improved safety standards and spurred the growth of unions that helped protect women from exploitation.

But there was someone outraged over the exploitation of laborers long before 1911: God. You've heard about how sabbath helps us rest, recharge, get in touch with ourselves and God. But the Bible's clear that sabbath is also about protecting those over whom you have power from being overworked—by you.

You may choose to race seven days a week, but what does that do to the people around you?  How does your employee feel when he gets emails full of work on Saturday morning?  What do your kids learn when you work 90 hours a week?  Are you really doing the stock boy at the 24-hour supermarket any favors by demanding an all-night grocery store to fit your schedule?

OK, so calling your secretary at home on the weekend isn't as bad as locking employees inside a tinderbox of a sweatshop. But the Bible is clear: your decision to work or to rest affects the people around you. It's also clear about this: once a week, for their sake, choose rest.

Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your justice. Amen.

About the Author Quinn G. Caldwell is Associate Minister of Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts.

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