Eking out a Living

Ting Ting Stall along Jonkers Street Melaka

'Those go out weeping, carrying seeds to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying their sheaves with them.' Psalm 126:6

7 Jul 2007, Pat and I were walking along Jonker’s Street, Melaka. We chanced upon a family of six. The parents were setting up a stall, which was no more than a simple 3-legged wooden stand supporting a cylindrical container about 30 inches in diameter and 5 inches high. Seated on a stool each, they began selling hardened maltose flakes that we used to call ting-ting sweets. The name is derived from the sound of hammer and chisel the hawker makes as he breaks off bits of hardened maltose in the cylindrical receptacle. The children are about ages 7, 6, 3 with the youngest, an infant. 

I was impressed at how the children were able to fend for themselves. The older daughter probably 6 years old carried her baby brother in her arms so securely and comfortably as any adult would. These children could have been playing computer games or watching cartoons on TV on a Saturday night. Instead they were with their parents at a 'pasar malam' along Jonker's Street in Melaka on a Saturday night. Probably the parents wanted every chance to earn an honest living, even if it is meager and the kids must come along in tow.

'Hawkers' uploaded by simalem

That's life but an honest day's living nonetheless. Many people in Malaysia and Singapore try to make an extra dollar working hard setting up make-shift stalls to sell their wares at night. This is called the Pasar Malam. There is a lesson to be learnt here about honest industry as a means to get out of the poverty cycle. 

People who are born to poor families are often trapped. Poor nutrition, poor education, poor work habits, and poor family relationships can easily condemn an individual to perpetual poverty. But those who make their way out, do so by grit and hard work, seizing every opportunity to earn a living. 

St Paul told the church in Colossae,

'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving.' Colossians 3:23 and 24b

He advised the young Timothy, his disciple,

'It is the hard working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops' 2 Timothy 2:6

Working hard was one of the themes of Paul's advice to the early Christians on practical living

'Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so your will not be dependent on anybody.' 1 Thessalonians 4:10b - 12

The apostle spoke strongly against idleness,

'For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor do we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, labouring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10

The founder of the Methodist church John Wesley took this advice on practical Christian living very seriously. Wesley preached “Gain all you can. Gain all you can by honest industry. Use all possible diligence in your calling. Lose no time. Every business will afford some employment sufficient for every day and every hour. That wherein you are placed, if you follow it in earnest, will leave you no leisure for silly, unprofitable diversions. You have always something better to do, something that will profit you, more or less. And "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."

Not only were the hawker parents at Jonker Street working hard, but by having their four children accompany them, they are imparting to the children a lesson on honest industry. Perhaps these children will seize the opportunities that come their way, opportunities, the parents never had or missed, e.g. a good education. Then they will be able get a better break, a better start. 

Hard work whether secular or spiritual will be blessed and rewarded by God. There is a song, 'Bringing in the Sheaves', that celebrated this fact.

'Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seeds to sow, will return with songs of joy, bringing sheaves with them.' Psalm 126:5-6

1. Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
   Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
   Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
   We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
   • Refrain:
     Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
     We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves;
     Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
     We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
2. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
   Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
   By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
   We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
3. Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
   Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
   When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
   We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

As I sat there watching this family in their current struggle, I knew that the example the parents were setting will help this family. Eventually, they will be set free from their current poverty not by the charity of others but by the industry of their own hands.

Lionel

Updated 1st published 20 Jul 2007