The recent movie Mrs. has stirred some interesting and meaningful conversations about unseen labour and the role of women in patriarchal societies. While I have not yet watched this movie, I have watched the Malayalam original, The Great Indian Kitchen. Set in Kerela, the movie is a masterpiece and brilliantly captures the unseen labour and connected gender issues of a woman. The same movie with different settings could be adapted for women in any part of India.
My focus on the movie is from the angle of work, especially a Christian response to unseen, unpaid labor. I remember how, growing up, my father worked in the hospitality industry. He would often come home and share how thankless his job was. He used to look so discouraged that seeing it was painful. My husband and I have discussed the areas of our work (at home and an official workspace) where we were taken for granted. Getting paid for everything a diligent worker might put into his or her job is almost impossible. Getting appreciated for all of it is not always feasible either.
I can think of countless times I felt taken for granted by family, friends, employers, and colleagues. You work hard, but someone else gets the promotion. You cook a meal with love and find it doesn’t please the family. I remember one time when I had done up my home beautifully for visiting family, and no one commented on my effort or the home. I remember feeling so disappointed. What’s the point of it all? My heart yearned for recognition and love, and I was heartbroken by being overlooked and ignored!
There are stories in the Bible that are encouraging at such times. Hagar is seen by God when she is thrown out by her mistress, Sarah, for despising her when she is pregnant with Abraham’s son—Ishmael. Gideon is seen by God working in the winepress. Even though he was from the weakest tribe in Israel, God called him out and called him to strike down the Midianites (Judges 6 and 7). Moses is seen by God drifting as a child in the river Nile and changed his future as he was found and adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2). The Samaritan woman is seen by Jesus when she is so ostracized that she comes alone to get water in the day's heat.
God sees you and me in our darkest places, the most quiet and desperate time, when we feel most unseen. God does not just see our circumstances but everything we do. So, whether it is the presentations you are making, the meetings you always lead, the accounts only you tally at work, the dishes you clean, or the cranky child you are rocking to sleep at 2 a.m., it is all visible to God.
There is undoubtedly work that may never get recognised and valued, but there is no concept of unseen labor for a Christian. God’s word affirms that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58). God sees us and everything we do. So, even if we are underappreciated, we can still work cheerfully, giving thanks to Jesus and doing it for Him (Col 3:17; 23-24).
Until a few years ago, I struggled with the idea that God gave more important tasks to the men in the Bible and left women with insignificant ones. God opened my eyes and helped me to read my Bible without bias and understand how men and women—together have been used by God throughout biblical history. Female figures like Eve, Sarah, Deborah, Esther, Ruth, and Mary are well-documented. Their roles are well recognised for leading, prophesying, or birthing nations—reflecting their importance as foundational to faith and history. Yet, many women whose contributions also shaped history remain in the background—Shiphrah and Puah’s defiance saved Moses and preserved Israel’s future (Exodus 1), Jael’s courage secured victory for the nation (Judges 4), and Huldah’s wisdom guided a king’s reform (2 Kings 22: 14- 20). Others, like Priscilla, Lois, and Eunice, quietly nurtured faith in the early church. Their work, though less recorded, was no less essential.
However, the focal point of the Bible is not elevating Esther over Naaman's unnamed servant girl but to glorify God’s work in and through their individual lives. Each person is called according to the purpose God placed on their lives, and their willingness to respond to God makes them an instrument in His hands. But ultimately, our worth is not measured by the work we are given, or how well we are recognised for it—it is found in God Himself, who is the author and foundation of our faith.
When the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, he also turned them against each other. When God asked Adam why he ate the fruit—he immediately turned and blamed Eve. The blame game started right there! The battle for recognition and value (male vs female) has not rested since then. Men and women fight for recognition against each other. But, the truth is both are His creation, created equal and beautiful in His image (Gen 1: 27). Our real battle is not against flesh and blood but is an invisible battle in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6: 12). We live in a time where our worth and work is defined from what work we do; how much we earn and what power or position we hold. While God is the Creator himself and created us to work, he never intended it to be the only thing that defines us. Unless we find our true identity and worth in Christ, we can never experience the joy of fulfilling what God created us to do. In practice, this is hard to do, but if we shift our eyes to Christ, we know that it all fades away.
So, should we stop working hard? By no means should we refrain from striving for excellence or confronting injustices related to gender, caste, race, or class. Much social and political reformation throughout the world has emerged from the powerful work of the gospel in the lives of missionaries, theologians, and several other men and women in various fields of work. The gospel liberates us from the burden of seeking validation through our work. It frees us to labour with joy and purpose, not for recognition, but as an expression of God’s grace at work in us. It helps us to pour ourselves into causes that are beyond ourselves by adding to eternal purposes. Since God already sees and values us, we can approach our work with freedom, uplift others, and appreciate their contributions without rivalry or insecurity.
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
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