One of the concerns of our contemporary culture is the normalizing of a lack of a work ethic. We focus a lot on leisure, relaxation, and excusing ourselves from our responsibilities. I was at a local establishment this week and was told that all but two employees had laid out from work that day. Work ethic is “the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward.” This is not about being sick, but rather the acceptable lack of a responsible attitude that we are cultivating in this generation.
We have all experienced the low staffing as we go about our lives; drive-thru line takes a little longer, not as many cash registers available in stores, and we see clearly that there are hiring signs everywhere. This is not a laughing matter, and we shouldn’t excuse this attitude because it is “my” child. Thinking that there is an option other than doing what I am supposed to do whether I want to or not needs to change if our children are going to be responsible adults. The high school student who is allowed to lay out of class for no reason becomes the college student who does the same and ultimately fails.
Covid has given us an excuse and a source for drama that our human nature takes advantage of. The concern is that this is shaping a generation of children who we will need to produce goods and services in just a few short years. The Bible says in Proverbs 26:13-16: “The lazy person claims, ‘There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!’ As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth. Lazy people consider themselves smarter.”
The behavior we allow at the age of ten will still be there in an uglier form at the age of twenty. There were two at that local establishment who did show up to work. Let’s you and I restore work ethic in the hearts, minds, and disciplines of our children. We do this by modeling it and then by expecting it from them.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.’ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work, and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers, and sisters, never get tired of doing good. Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. Don’t think of them as enemies but warn them as you would a brother or sister.”
As the old saying goes “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
