Wow, S$6m left to the maid - a 47-year-old Filipina, who served her employer faithfully for more than two decades since 1986 and whom the late employer treated "like a daughter". My immediate thought was: how many people would treat their maids as part of the family to the extent of leaving them a huge inheritance, especially in an Asian context where blood is thicker than water and where paternal blood-ties often matter much more than maternal blood-ties? We are the "inner" grandchildren or nieces/nephews when we carry the same surname but "outer" grandchildren or nieces/nephews on the maternal side, and being the "inner" grandchildren or nieces/nephews, we enjoy privileges and favouritism. I employed a maid for about three years some time ago, initially to take care of my bedridden mother and after my mom passed away, to cook and do the household chores. What struck me during my pre-employment interview of my maid was a statement that she wrote in her application form - that she hoped her employer would treat her as part of the family. And so, I had sought to treat her well, being reminded of what the Bible says when Moses gave God's commandments to the Israelites:
At the root of all relationships (including our relationship with our maids) is love and mercy. Jesus often taught this. In the story of the good Samaritan, a Jew was robbed and injured while out travelling. A priest saw the injured man but he passed by on the other side of the road. Then a Levite (member of the Israelite tribe chosen by God to serve in His temple and assist the priests) came by and saw the injured man, but he too passed by on the other side. Next came a Samaritan who took pity on the injured man, bound up his wounds and placed him under the care of an innkeeper. So who is a neighbour to the man who was robbed and injured? "The one who had mercy on him." (Luke 10:29-37)
The action of the good Samaritan was unusual as a deep hatred existed between Jews and Samaritans. The Jews saw themselves as pure descendants of Abraham, while the Samaritans were a mixed race produced when Jews intermarried with other peoples. The Life Application Study Bible says:
Only the Samaritan treated him (the injured man) as a person to love. From the parable we learn three principles about loving our neighbour: (1) lack of love is often easy to justify, even though it is never right; (2) our neighbour is anyone of any race, creed or social background who is in need; (3) love means acting to meet the person's need.
Whether we are Christians or not, we need to remember that our maids are humans too, with their personal needs and failings that we should give allowance for. We grumble and murmur when we feel over-worked and unpaid by our bosses; but when it comes to our maids, are we making them work day and night to get our "money's worth"? Do we have one set of values for ourselves and another set for our maids? Scripture says:
"Do to others as you would have them do to you..... Be merciful, just as your father is merciful." (Luke 6:31, 36)
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