Childhood Between Christianity and the Labor Market
Dr. Michel E. Abs
Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches
Saturday, the 12 of June, is the International Day Against Child Labor, and the United Nations has designated 2021 as the year of permanently eliminating child labor. It is worth noting that despite the decrease in this form of enslavement by 38% during the past decade, the figures indicate that 152 million children are still working unsanctioned by the law.
Child labor is a historical crisis, which began with the industrial revolution in the West showing frightening as well as fraudulent forms.
During their work, children are exposed to violence and persecution, in addition to the fact that the nature of the work is strenuous and dangerous and has historically led to the death of large numbers of youngsters caused by technical accidents that history still remembers.
Children worked in agriculture, mining, smuggling, prostitution, and their derivatives, some of them being handed over to employers by their families in return for owed unpaid debts.
Children worked in wars as they were preferred to adults for their speed of movement and their recklessness and especially for their obedience to those who controlled them thereby being consequently sent to dangerous battles.
Here we must distinguish between Child Work and Child Labor. The first type allows the child to attend school and continue his academic achievement, as its requirements are low, such as guarding children or distributing newspapers or mail and the like. As for the second type, it can be described as strenuous and risky work that does not allow the child to continue his educational attainment, a kind that is being fought by the United Nations as well as by other humanitarian agencies.
This phenomenon was produced by the so-called industrial or modern society, and became widespread in all countries of the world, both as an aftermath of the industrial revolution and later. This phenomenon, which uproots children from their childhood, is the product of human beings who have forgotten love - or feigned to forget it- because their interests were stronger than their conscience as well as because their greed drove them far in political and economic tyranny. Those who do research on the subject and review reports received from researchers and institutions concerned with the issue are absolutely certain of this.
Many people missed what the Master said about children, so they looked at their very being.
Today is not at all akin to the time when Christ received the children as it ignores what He said about them and the way He welcomed them.
On the day when children were brought forth to Jesus to touch them, those who brought them to Him were rebuked by the disciples . Jesus then was heard to retort with outburst anger:” Let the children come to me and do not prevent them, because for such is the kingdom of God”. And He then added, “Truly I say to you: He who does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”
He then took a child in his arms and said to them, "Anyone who welcomes this little child on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me."
In addition, the Lord affirmed in another place, “Truly I say to you, if you do not return and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Confident of the weakness of children and their exposure to abuse in various stages of human history, the Master affirmed that "it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish."
The height of the words of Christ, who forgave those who crucified him, showed "extremism" in child protection as he stated “If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea”.
The Christ of Mercy cared for the children, protecting them to the utmost in addition to stressing the importance of their psychological and social maintenance.
Christianity, the protector of humanity, especially the advocate of groups at risk, is called to raise its voice. We can say that its institutions are not failing at the global level, despite the tenaciousness of a number of phenomena harmful to the human race
The Church of Christ is called to constantly remind humanity of how far it has departed from the teachings that are at the basis of its civilization. It is called upon not to allow any unjust phenomenon harmful to man to pass unnoticed and consequently be allowed to spread.
The Church of Christ has done a lot in many a field, and it is called to continue to serve as an early warning of the evil that lurks in humanity and that spurs its horn from time to time under various toxicities.
The values of Christianity were and will always remain an ethical reserve for humanity for times to come.