Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: December 19, 2004
Teaching Youth The “Work” Ethic
Wayne Jackson
My father was not a Christian. Occasionally, he expressed doubt about the existence of God. I never heard
him pray, and he never taught the Bible to me. But I loved him and he loved me, and he did teach me some
important values, not the least of which was the worth of honest, diligent labor. In other words, the dignity
of hard work.
When I was nine or ten, I was a helper on a paper route, delivering newspapers before daylight and in the
afternoons — six days a week. On the day before my twelfth birthday, we moved into a rural area of
Tennessee north of Nashville. I secured a “job” with the local blacksmith, who lived down the hill and across
the road from our old home place. I went into the woods each evening, sought out his milk cow (locating her
by the bell around her neck), and drove her to his barn. My salary was twenty-five cents a week.
Eventually I advanced, taking a job at a nearby grocery store after school in the afternoons and on Saturdays.
I stacked bottles, dusted shelves, etc. My wage was ten cents an hour. What to do with all that wealth!
Soon I was able to buy two piglets, which I raised on “slop” that I regularly collected from neighbors just after
dawn on those beautiful southern mornings. As I grew older, I was able to secure a cow, and finally some
calves. In high school, I fattened a beautiful Hereford steer for showing at the fall fair. The animal cost me
$100. But the “stock market” fell that year and my prize-winning, nine-hundred-pound steer sold for $125. I
learned that there are bitter disappointments in the business world!
But I worked on. I plowed a field, planted and harvested corn to feed my animals. One year I set out an acre
of strawberries. That was the summer we have a severe drought and I harvested not one berry from that non-
crop. What to do? Get up and go again!
I shall always be grateful to my parents for teaching me something about the ethics and rewards of honest
work. I would like to pass along some of the “work” principles that I think would serve well the youth of this
day.
1.) Do not allow your children to simply sit around, wasting an inordinate amount of time watching TV,
playing video games, and immersing themselves in every conceivable sport, etc. A parent may boast, “My son
‘lettered’ in four sports.” I can tell you this: He did not “letter” in learning how to work and help pay his own
way at the same time. There is more to life than “playing” — though one would scarcely know it, by watching
some adults! Recreation is intended to “re-create” after vigorous labor; it should be engaged in moderation;
not in obsession.
2.) Do not give your children everything on a silver platter as if they were royalty within your home. They
should learn responsibility. It will not hurt them to do chores, or (if old enough) get a part-time join to help
pay for their clothes, their own recreational activities, etc. Is it any wonder that many young adults continue
to run to “daddy” and “mommy” for every conceivable need — even after they’ve left home — if indeed they
ever do leave (see Gen. 2:24)?
3.) Teach your youngsters the value of honest work. Employers recognize and diligently seek men and women
of integrity. Train your children in the principle of quality labor for fair pay. And a part of honesty is doing
your best. A good person will do good work; he/she will not turn out a shoddy product in the interest of
“getting on” with some personal pursuit. Moreover, they will put in a full day’s work for day’s pay. These
concepts will result in rich dividends in your child’s adult life. Employers today are searching for workers who
are drug-free, honest, and diligent.
4.) Encourage your offspring to look toward a vocation in which they can be happy. What a dismal life it must
be to arise each morning and head off to a job that is despised — no matter how much it pays. Such can
make human existence miserable. At the same time, children must be taught that no job will be without its
discouraging times. One has to learn that you take the rough with the smooth, and learn and grow thereby.
One sees so many young adults who bounce from one job to another, ever seeking to “find” themselves.
Seemingly some never do.
5.) Teach your children that a vocation that allows him/her to have quality family time is more important
than a high-wage position where one is out of town most of the time. Some wives complain because their
husbands are “on the road” so much, yet they reveal in the “things” those super-incomes can obtain. The
lack of precious time with your children can never be retrieved when they are gone from your home.
6.) The most important thing that a parent can train his child to recognize is the fact that his occupation
needs to be consistent with a Christian life. Guide your youngsters away from vocations that are
questionable in ethics, or that tend to create tempting situations. Train them to plan toward an occupation
in which they can devote quality time to the church, attending at least most of the services, and being able to
assume responsibilities that work for the welfare of the congregation as a whole. Quips like, “I just don’t
have the time to serve as a deacon,” or “My schedule simply will not allow me to teach a class,” are common
in the body of Christ. Service to Christ should be the most driving force in one’s life (Matt. 6:33).
Finally, reflect upon this. The work ethic was given to man in the garden — even before the original Fall.
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:
15). From that early time, responsible people have acknowledged that whatever one’s secular vocation may
be, ultimately, God is the Supervisor for whom they labor (Eph. 6:5-6), and he is to be glorified thereby.
Remember also that the Son of God was a carpenter before he became a preacher. How satisfying it must
have been to have owned a piece of furniture made with those diligent hands!
— via Christian Courier On The Web: www.christiancourier.com See “Penpoints,” April 5, 2004