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“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all”. (Sam Ewing)
What has become of our work ethic? Certainly all of you reading this paragraph know that the work of preparing for the survival of your family is hard. This is a problem because hard work has fallen on hard times lately. Many modern Americans are diseased with the mistaken notion that they can have it all without having to work for it. Our Founding Fathers, from the Pilgrims to the Patriots of the Revolutionary War, were men and women who knew how to work hard. They were the founders of what came to be known as the Puritan work ethic. America used to renowned for the quality of its craftsmanship. Who can say that anymore? Our work ethic, like all other ethical standards, has fallen off in recent years.
But if we are to become wise preparers we must learn to exert ourselves in hard labor. Preparing for disaster is hard. But it’s not nearly as hard as it is likely to get when the grid goes down. We hardly can appreciate the vast number of labor saving devices and technologies on which we rely daily. Take those away and all of us will find ourselves tasked with much harder work.
As the proverb above teaches, hard work will bring to light what you’re really like. It will cause your true nature to rise to the surface. What sort of person will hard work show you to be? Now’s the time to find out. Take steps today to increase the work load of each member of your family. Do with chores and other labors what a body builder does with his free weights. Keep adding weight. Step by step, you’ll find your capacity for hard work increasing. That way, when the really hard work that’s coming finally hits, you’ll be ready. Rather than be ashamed, your character will shine.
This Day in Church History
April 19, 1529: At the Diet of Speyer in Germany, several German princes and 14 German cities presented a formal protest to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, complaining against his attempt to crush Lutheranism. The draft, published on this date, was an important milestone, defending religious freedom for religious minorities, especially for those involved in the Reformation. From then on, the Reformers were known as “Protestants”. The liberty of conscience you enjoy today was the hard won fruit of brave and hard working men from the past.
