Coming off the Labor Day weekend, were you excited about going back to work (assuming you had the holiday off)?
A lot of people — myself included — had to work on Monday, but it’s all good. I’m sure I’ll get a day off some time.
What’s your general attitude toward work? Do you arrive eager to get to the day, happy to be employed, ready to accomplish something? Or do you work merely so you can play later? Or pay bills, or whatever it is for which you work.
The Bible says we can’t find our worth or purpose just in work (see Ecclesiastes 2:4-11). But God worked and created mankind in his image. According to Scripture, work is done to benefit both the worker and others (Exodus 23:10-11; Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Ephesians 4:28). It is a gift from God and will be blessed (Psalm 104, 127; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, 5:18-20; Proverbs 14:23). And God equips us for work (Exodus 31:2-11).
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”
Author and theologian C. S. Lewis wrote, “Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.”
Both of my parents grew up understanding the value of hard work. They instilled this in their children, and we have tried to do the same for our children.
Each of my children has a different skill set, but each one is a hard worker. Just like anyone else, myself included, any of them also knows how to get away with doing nothing sometimes, but I digress.
Rather than take up too much space, I’ll just give a couple of examples of this hard work. My oldest son has always been quick to help others when he sees work being done and thinks the person may need a hand. It makes no difference if he knows them or if they’re complete strangers. He likes to help.
My younger son is the same. Not long ago he spent a few Saturdays helping a man repair his fence. This was not because the man knew him or hired him. My son saw the older gentlemen attempting to do the work on his own, and stopped and asked if he could help. For a few weekends, he set aside his other plans and worked to help someone he previously did not know accomplish a needed task. I think he got paid in sandwiches.
My daughters are all three the same. They each will jump in like this for the sake of others.
I like to think I had some part in raising them to be that way — to work hard, to put others before themselves, to be polite and to try to make a difference.
But too many people don’t do that in our “everybody gets a participation trophy” world.
Somewhere along the way, we as a people dropped the ball when it came to teaching our children to work for what they expect to get, to not expect handouts and to learn from their failures. Too many people can’t take criticism — of any kind — and want to be rewarded just for showing up. Some want to be rewarded for less than that.
But labor is not easy. Labor literally is work. Just ask a woman who’s been in labor.
So, if you’re employed, be grateful and be a diligent, hard-working employee or a trustworthy employer. If you’re not employed, don’t give up. Keep working toward working. It’ll come.
For a future column, I’d love for those of you who live in Chunky to tell me why you live there, and what you love about it.
