Echoes From the Campfire

[Don Adkisson]

       “He was dependable; a man who would do his share of the work and more. In other words, the kind of man you'd want alongside you in the tough times.”
                    --D.C. Adkisson  (Troubles at Gregory Gulch)

        "Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening."
                    --Psalm 104:23 (NKJV)
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There are many of our core foundations being struck out today.  Foundations that are vital to the survival of this nation.  One of them is the work ethic.  Just recently I drove up to Missouri and everywhere--I mean everywhere-- there were signs:  "Hiring,"  "Positions Available," "Applications Being Accepted."  If I would have counted them they would have been up in the hundreds.  We ate dinner one evening at a restaurant and were told that they had to go from a full menu to a small buffet because they did not have the workers.
       Too long now, there have been too many given a free ride.  Now, don't get me wrong, if a hand is needed then it should go out, but there are too many freeloaders in this country.  Too many who would rather get a welfare check than put in an honest day's work.  What has happened?  This foundation of America is in danger of cracking.
       Many years ago I did a study regarding work.  The gist of the study came up with two premises:

                    1)  The purest form of natural joy is man's enjoyment in his work.
                    2)  The purest form of joy is in Jesus Christ.

A hard day's work brings welcome sleep.  A hard day's work brings satisfaction--JOY.  But far too often people grumble and complain about working.  People have become lazy, wanting a handout, wanting their debt removed, wanting a free ride, wanting others to take up their slack.  In all my years of working one of those individuals that caused me much consternation was a slacker.  A person who slacks in their work is a person who is not to be trusted.
       Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is "Nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor.  This also, I saw, was from the hand of God."  (Ecclesiastes 2:24, NKJV)  The NLT puts it, "to find satisfaction in his work."  You want to see a nation's foundation crack, let the people go to a welfare state (socialism).
       America has always been known for its work ethic, industriousness, and innovation.  The Puritan Work Ethic was ingrained into the soul of the people.  God ordained work, God called people to their position; therefore man was to work, not only to provide for his family, but also for the glory of God.  The further man moved from this concept the more socialism has been able to creep in.  Many businesses have had to shut down simply because the people don't have a mind to work.

                    "When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you."
                                      --Psalm 128:2 (NKJV)

                    "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."

                                      --2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NKJV)

The ability to work is a blessing from God.  A job, career, position is a blessing from God.  Do not despise God's blessings for to do so is to despise the Giver.  Work hard at work worth doing (and this could cover various areas of life).  True, sometimes we must work in a position for a while, maybe to put food on the table, maybe to learn of the position and all that it entails, maybe just to pay our dues to life.

D.C. Adkisson