Perspective is so important to maintaining hope and steadiness in our lives, including times when we're feeling insecure about employment. Whether our uncertainty relates to the overall economy, or to our immediate circumstances, spiritual perspective gives us the courage and trust we need.
Take the example of a man we'll call Fernando, a Latin American immigrant living in California. When he commutes to work in the morning, he goes to a street corner in San Rafael. It's 6 a.m. Three hours later, most other commuters have started their jobs. But Fernando is still at that corner. Sometimes he waits there all day, hoping a truck will come by and pick him up for a construction job.
Where does he look for employment security? Perhaps to the Fourth Commandment, writes Justo Gonzalez in his book Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes (reviewed on page 5 of this issue). That's the commandment that proclaims the Sabbath a day of rest. But the poor and unemployed often bring a different perspective to this commandment. For them, Gonzalez says, "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work" is God's assurance of the right to a full week of work. Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press. 1996), pp. 59-60
