Making friends with other people’s money
My office door opened to the all too familiar sound of a rolling suitcase, the faces of a couple framed in the door window, the smaller form of their domestic helper following behind with most of her earthly belongings.
“You’re here to terminate a contract?” I ask, already knowing the answer. When we get around to the reason, yet again I hear “she’s borrowed money and the creditors are beginning to harass us.” We complete all the paperwork, take care of the exchange of keys, final financial settlement, etc. I invite them to say any last words, usually “I’m sorry” and “goodbye”, then the employers leave. Now alone with the helper I ask her what happened? why did she borrow the money?
“I wanted to help my friend. Her dad was sick and she needed money, so I took out a loan in my name and we split the money. She stopped paying her share and I couldn’t handle the full payment, so I got behind, and …” that’s when the creditors sent out the collectors to harass the employer (the only one with money in this situation). This scenario happens over and over again, all you need to do is change the names and a few details — it is probably the main reason for terminating domestic workers. In Hong Kong, the only legal way to stop collectors from harassing you is to show them the official notice to Immigration that indicates that you’ve terminated the contract and that this person no longer works for you. Once you’ve done that — collection companies must stop or face police action.
Borrowing money in HK is soooo easy and finances companies target domestic workers with ads like this:
Borrowing money was a short term help for someone, but now the person has lost the one thing with the power to help them attain a better financial future — their JOB!
Why? Why do people risk long term financial well being for short term gain? Why do they give in to social pressure to borrow money? Why do they feel obligated to help other people even when they have no money to do so? There is a disconnect here — that I, as a Westerner, don’t get. I can see helping people with what I have, but borrowing money to help another person?? Not gonna happen.
Making friends and helping friends with other people’s money is as old as the Bible. Jesus told a parable, a story with a lesson, about a manager who, when he learned that we was going to be fired, used the rest of his last working day, and his employer’s money, to make friends with some of his boss’ biggest clients, so that he would have a soft landing when he left this job. Here’s the story:
‘Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’ Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’ “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’ “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’ “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
Luke 16:1–9 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/LUK.16.1-9
I wouldn’t be surprised if the boss, a month or two later found himself sitting across the negotiating table dealing with his former manager (who now worked for one of his customers).
The dishonest manager is like the government employee who uses his position to ensure that after he leaves government “service” — he’ll have a lucrative position in one of the businesses lobbying the government.
On a micro level domestic workers in Hong Kong do the same thing. There are no safety nets in their countries (Philippines and Indonesia). If you get sick or the typhoon wipes out your crops, you’re on your own. The only safety net they have is each other, family and friend relationships, and a sense of “utang na loob” personal indebtedness, i.e., “you owe me…!” Borrowing money from some faceless institution with no intent to repay it — sometimes doesn’t feel like stealing, and even if it does, what is that compared to my friend or family’s need?
Likewise the government official who gives sweet deals to the company’s lobbying the government, sees the “government” as some faceless institution with loads of money. Why not use some of it to ensure my future? Doesn’t Jesus say that’s okay?
Money and wealth are tools meant to help people (if you believe Jesus), not something to be amassed for a rainy day, or a retirement on your own private island.
Please don’t misunderstand me, dishonest handling of material possessions is never condoned by Jesus. Either Jesus or Luke goes on to add:
‘“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?’ Luke 16:10–12
Why do people borrow money to help friends and relatives? Because they are expected to — it’s part of culture where most people have next to nothing and those who work overseas are thought to be rich and have endless means to help. Rather than say “no, I can’t” they give into the guilt or obligation (utang na loob) and borrow the money. If they end up getting terminated because of it — well they have friends to welcome them home, feed them, and take care of them…
