Hard Work Builds Character

Growing up, my family really valued hard work. As kids, we had chores to do every day. I remember asking my parents if I could get an allowance for doing them.

My dad said something like this, “We make sure you have food to eat, a place to sleep, and clean clothes to wear. You’ve got all you need.”

I wasn’t quite happy with that answer. I wanted to be like the other kids who got an allowance!

Looking back, I remember that Mom would often stop by Benny’s Supermarket almost every day. She would give me and my siblings a quarter to spend as we wanted. Back then, 25 cents could buy a bottle of Coke, a candy bar, and five small pieces of candy (like a Hershey’s Kiss or a Fireball).

Even though I didn’t understand it then, my parents were teaching us about the value of family and hard work. They were helping us grow into responsible, mature adults.

I recently read a short story about a guy named John. He loved apples, but he was so lazy that he wouldn’t pick ripe apples from his tree. He just waited for them to fall. John got hungrier as days went by while the fruit rotted on the ground. Eventually, the apples were gone, and his chance was lost. John loved apples, but he hated hard work!

Are you missing out on opportunities and potential?

Proverbs 10:4 says,

“Lazy people are soon poor; but hard workers get rich.”

Hard work is essential for success! Dreams without action are just dreams.