“When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 136).
It is difficult to believe that in the 21st century we would still see such blatant discrimination against Seventh-day Adventists, despite the fact that there are federal laws protecting workers from being unfavorably treated because of their race and religion. Unfortunately, there is still a deep-seeded contempt for the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12).
The New York Post published a story on October 14, 2023, about a woman named Johanne Saint-Jean from Brooklyn who was targeted, harassed, and ridiculed by her police department for asking to get the seventh-day Sabbath off for worship. The article stated:
• “A Brooklyn cop and Seventh Day Adventist was derided as a ‘scammer’ after she requested to be off on Saturdays to worship, according to a lawsuit.” [1]
• “When she signed onto the job in 2016, Johanne Saint-Jean claims she was told she’d be able to adhere to her faith, a Christian sect that observes the sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.” [1]
• “Instead, she spent the next eight years being chastised by superiors who allegedly told her, ‘You’re not Jewish. Why are you practicing like you’re Jewish’?” [1]
• “Bosses told Saint-Jean ‘there is no place for her in the police department’ because of her religion.” [1]
• “I don’t understand your religion,” one boss told her, according to court papers. “Your religion is messed up’.” [1]
• “A supervisor also said her religion was ‘not for black people’ and she started being assigned to work Saturdays, she said. As a result, she was forced to use her own accrued time off for the Sabbath and has lost out on valuable overtime and transfers to specialized units.” [1]
• “Her problems multiplied in 2020 when Sgt. Robbin Abrams became her new boss, she contends. He allegedly told her that ‘no cop wants to work with you because you are a scammer’.” [1]
This is something that should be of interest to every Seventh-day Adventist believer. According to the Spirit of Prophecy, the true and faithful will very soon be perceived as participating in the worst kind of “hostilities” against their country for simply wanting to follow the Bible and keep the true Sabbath of Jehovah:
“Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government” (Great Controversy, p. 592).
“There will come a time when, because of our advocacy of Bible truth, we shall be treated as traitors” (Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 394).
Enemies of law and order? Disaffection towards the government? Traitors? Satan is working to accuse the faithful of committing gross hostilities against law and order. How many of our people realize what is happening today? When are we, as Seventh-day Adventists, going to wake up? Or are we just too busy? Or are too many at ease?
While the principles of liberty and freedom of conscience are being dangerously desecrated, we are to be found working earnestly. We are in a time of emergency, and God’s people must be found working.
“If they do nothing to disabuse the minds of the people, and through ignorance of the truth our legislature should abjure the principles of Protestantism, and give countenance and support to the Roman fallacy, the spurious Sabbath, God will hold His people who have had great light, responsible for their lack of diligence and faithfulness” (Review and Herald, December, 24, 1889).
Praise God for all those who are standing up for truth against great odds. Praise God for those who are going against the grain and doing everything in their power to spread the Three Angels’ Messages. God, help us to be faithful to our calling and to lift up high the banner of Christ inscribed with the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Sources
[1] https://nypost.com/2023/10/14/nypd-cop-slammed-as-scammer-for-wanting-off-on-sabbath-lawsuit/
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Pray that God will work things out for His people.
This woman has a tremendous amount of patience and courage.
God has definitely had a hand in the above.
The “Blue Line” can be very difficult for those who don’t conform.
With that being said a police officer, firefighter and other professions along these line are 365/24/7. Crime, fires and other events don’t take the Sabbath off.
I know I will get flack for this comment but I believe that if a persons convictions are as such maybe a different line of vocation is warranted or possibly a different assignment within the force.
I didn’t pursue several vocations because I knew that it would cause many problems for the team or organization I wanted to pursue.
I was looking at the big picture. Though it was disappointing I knew it was the right decision.
I have worked into Sabbath hours on a few occasions but I never felt like God was going to disown me. Those were very unusual circumstances and not the norm.
Currently we have soldiers in Israel who are conducting combat operations on Sabbath. They are protecting their home and people from a threat. Not getting political.
My thing is as a Sabbath keeping people we need to look at the big picture before we expect people and organizations to accept us into the fold so to speak.
Joe in Pennsylvania
So if she was asking for Sundays off for worship, would they have accommodated her?
Marie,
The same would apply as I stated above.
If I were in a career field that is of public service (fire, police, ems I would even include public works for water and sanitation) I personally wouldn’t have an issue with working on Sabbath.
I would probably take my earnings for the time and put it towards a ministry or such.
Again as I mentioned above, these this is my personal opinion. When you try to insert yourself into a community of professionals that must have confidence and trust that you will always be there and have your back you are forcing your beliefs on them. God forbid that something happens that results in the death or injury to one of your teammates.
Please think about that.
Joe in Pennsylvania
This incident is taking place in America the citadel of religious freedom and religious liberty . But unfotunately this is no more , the protestanism which once made American republic to be the most powerful nation on the earth has been reversed by unseen enemy within America itself , this enemy has infiltrated all sectors in the U.S GOVERNMENT and has managed to destroy principle cornerstone of the constitution of this republic by clusping hands with the Roman power and protestanism has been discarded and disregarded the enemy is none other but the Jesuits of Rome who have destroyed the American nation by paving way for the leadership of Vicar of Christ (POPE) to exercise global persecution and tyranny against God’s remnant commandment keeping people faithful few within the Seventh day Adventists.
I’ve had numerous job problems because of the Sabbath. In a job like law enforcement, where colleagues must “have each other’s back,” bucking the system is a bad idea. I agree with Joe. Sabbath keepers should seek employment in fields where Sabbath keeping is not going to be a problem. They should also carefully review their own ideas about how the Sabbath should be observed. Might be difficult for those who become SDA well into their career. Jesus said following Him wouldn’t always be easy. Areas of employment with strong unions/brotherhoods reward compliance. A person who “wins” a conflict and ends up having a cinderblock dropped on his head or gets his/her throat slashed in correctional work might have second thoughts. Attorneys and religious liberty types may or may not encourage litigation. They are not the ones who have to routinely face those colleagues who now hate the litigant.
In the nursing field, Roman Catholic hospitals are very respectful of those who want Sabbaths off as are Jewish hospitals.
Another issue that might bother some people is the required oath/affirmation of loyalty to the government for certain jobs. Here’s a discussion of the issue:
https://www.sjsu.edu/up/docs/state-of-california-loyalty-oath-information.pdf
It is unsettling that they would treat SDAs this bad. We are getting a preview of what is soon to come.
“I didn’t pursue several vocations because I knew that it would cause many problems for the team or organization I wanted to pursue.”
Joe makes an important point here by considering the impact his Sabbath observance will have on others. While I consider it unwise, from a personal well-being perspective, to litigate Sabbath issues, it is also a matter of charity to those who might be affected by what we do. “In your face” Sabbath observance is hardly the way to win people to Christ or represent Christianity in general.
Gerhard Hasel’s sister wrote a book about her family’s experience under the Third Reich. Naturally, they were a suspicious lot, being tainted by Jewish customs. When called to account, she immediately referred to SDA Sabbath observance, something very odious in the minds of people bent on the destruction of all things Jewish. Certain Lutherans suspected of disloyalty to the Reich, when questioned, portrayed faith in Christ as the distinguishing feature of their beliefs. People perceive Sabbath keepers as devoted to the Decalogue rather than to Christ. That was likely a factor in the ridicule our litigant experienced, i.e., SDA are devoted to laws, commandments, statutes, and ordinances instead of to Jesus. Interestingly, the Hasel family survived the war.
Speaking of the Jews, I once met a small group of Polish people in a convalescent hospital in Sacramento. I asked them about the Holocaust, why so few did anything to help the Jews. They responded along these lines: ~ “You have no idea what the Jews were like in Poland before the war. If you went to one of their villages in the countryside, you couldn’t get even a drink of water. They wanted nothing to do with non-Jews. Forget about shopping, doing business, if you weren’t Jewish. They hated non-Jewish people; consequently, we didn’t care much what happened to them.” Granted, these remarks came from one small group of people. True or not, that’s what they had to say.
The kind of animosity this Sabbath keeping woman faced does seem strange. A rabbi teaching torah in a class of mostly Jews said, “We need to ask ourselves how we contributed to the hatred we encountered in Europe.” SDAs should probably asking the same question. True, we may be hated without a cause; tragically, often there is a cause.