A Dirty Four Letter Word

"There are no traffic jams along the extra mile." - Roger Staubach

America seems to be losing something that was once instilled into its cultural mindset during its colonial beginnings. Birthed out of her rugged beginning, America came into being through nothing but hard work. The idea of 'take from the haves and give to the have nots' was first repudiated over 400 years ago in the English settlement of Jamestown. The first year of Jamestown revealed the repercussions of living under the guise of a 'community store house'. Half the men were of the gentry class and did not or would not work. Yet they could receive freely from the common storehouse. The winter of 1607 brought forth the fruit of despair, only 38 out of the original 104 settlers had survived. It wasn't until Captain John Smith 'forced' everyone to work, allowing them to enjoy the fruit of their own labor, did things begin to turn around at Jamestown. American history is littered with stories like these, from the Puritan work ethic to children stories like, 'The Little Engine That Could'. And don't forget the The Tortoise and the Hare and the many Aesop fables and their morals that touted basic principles of 'little by little does the trick.' The American dream was founded upon such rugged individualism and idea if a person worked hard, no matter the social class or place of birth, an individual could rise up and fully enjoy the fruit of his own labor. This idea is easy to observe if you just take out a history book and purvey the litany of pictures that house the image of the American Dream. Men and women, full of blood, sweat, and probably many tears, diligently at work in pursuit of what America offered her...freedom to use your God given gifts and talents to become whatever you desired to become.

Today, the word 'work' is a dirty four letter word. Many people have seemingly lost the understanding, value, and even the advantage of what it means to work. The principle in scripture unequivocally states! "If you don't work, you don't eat!" (2 Thessalonians 3:10) As it has been quoted and said, the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Yet, there seems to be this growing movement within the American mindset to get something for nothing. That somehow someway everyone deserves the benefits that only comes with hard work! This recent generation has been branded with the label as 'The Entitlement Generation'! It seems that corporate America is receiving many college graduates who believe they deserve ALL the entitlements that only come with years of hard work. The twenty-two year old, fresh out of college graduate actually believes he should be given a contract full of the benefits only a fifty to sixty year old achieved after years of sacrifice and labor.

As a teacher, I have also witnessed this in the younger generation. There is a certain attitude that has crept in amongst the youth concerning laboring and work. Many, if not most, seem to want good things but don't see the connection that work has to getting those 'good' things. These youth want jobs, but don't want to work hard on their education. They want nice houses, material possessions, and riches, but they refuse to restrain themselves. They don't see the connection between denying themselves for the moment in order to obtain greater things down the road. They have 'pie in the sky' dreams, but refuse to get their hands and feet grounded in some good old fashion down and dirty work!

And God forbid if you ask someone to 'go the extra mile'. To be asked to do anything outside of one's job description is, as the cliche goes, 'like extracting blood from a turnip'. To many, the extra mile is tantamount to a marathon! Yet, this idea of work and not only working, but working through trials and tribulations used to be the 'bread and butter' of the American psyche. NOTHING could not be achieved if one were to put your mind to it and get too work. Once again, the myriad of inspirational stories of our Founding Fathers, to the early American inventors, are ripe with the wisdom of what a made up mind, backed up with hard work can achieve.

Charles O. Finley said it this way, "Sweat plus sacrifice equals success." There is no way around it, success comes through work and the idea of having to labor toward one's aspirations and goals. Not only does sweat plus sacrifice bring success, but within the bosom of this principle lays those elusive principles of character and self-esteem. The ideas of character and self-esteem are elusive because they can only be captured through that dirty little four letter word called, WORK! It is the continuous effort, doing a little more each day, and going the extra mile that will ultimately produce the fruit you so desire. And there is no pleasure on earth like eating the fruit of one's own labor.

About ten years ago, I began to take up running as a form of exercise. I was gaining weight and saw the beginning stages of what I deem 'furniture disease'. My chest had done fallen down into my drawers! I began to move to do something about the problem. I bought a treadmill only to find it became a very expensive coat and hat rack. And like the fig tree that spoke to Jesus, the treadmill laughed at me. Every time I walked past that treadmill, it taunted me! The point being, the treadmill did not and could not do the work for me! It took about two years before I finally got the revelation. No matter how I sliced and diced it, or how much money I spent, it was still up to me to put my body in action and get to work!

Now, ten years later, I have crossed the 10,000 mile mark. Wow! TEN THOUSAND MILES! That's about fifty pairs of running shoes, and over a million calories of energy burned! Its days of getting up early in the morning when I didn't want to. Its training for weeks on end for a yearly marathon. It was work and most of the time, there wasn't an immediate reward in the effort that I put forth. But its even deeper than just the plain number of 10,000 miles. If someone would have told me ten years ago that not only would I run over 10,000 miles but also run in eight marathons, and finished all eight marathons, I would never have believed it. It is only now, when I look back, I can see the benefits of all my hard work. The fact that I am writing this to you, is a benefit from what I have learned while running. I have learned many things about myself, naturally and spiritually. I have accomplished things I never dreamed I could or would accomplish. I have had the pleasure of taking a nice juicy bite out of the fruit of my labor. "Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you." (William James)

Marvin Phillips said , "The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!" Its time to put the 'umph' back in your dreams. Don't be deceived, as the scripture admonishes us, if we sow sparingly, don't expect to reap bountifully! As Percy H. Johnston said, "It is the height of absurdity to sow little but weeds in the first half of one's lifetime and expect to harvest a valuable crop in the second half." Its time to stop looking for a handout and waiting for 'your ship to come in'! There is no way around it, and that it is WORK! "No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined."(Harry Emerson Fosdick) What are YOU waiting for...??? GET TO WORK!