Bless Them By Making Them Work

"Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime." I don't know the author of this quote but it shows the foolishness of doing for others things they can do for themselves.

There are far too many people who think they are being helpful by handing free things to those who have not earned them. All this accomplishes is to make the giver feel good about themselves and the recipient to feel good for a moment.

This false form of help manages only to keep people dependent on others rather than allowing them to maintain their dignity by earning their own way.

When we earn our own way, dependent on no one but God, we have a sense of accomplishment and purpose that is absent from the lives of those who have everything handed to them.

Over time, if a man lives off the scraps of others, he becomes bitter, encumbered with a sense of uselessness. It is degrading to anyone who has abilities, but are told they are helpless and useless.

If we want to foster dignity and courage in others, we do it by showing them what they can do for themselves while fostering in them a sense of creativeness according to their own talents and abilities.

God tells us to train up a child in the way that he should go, meaning according to his God given talents and bents. To force a child into our idea of his talents, is wrong. In order to know the talents and bents of our children we must spend time with them.

All of us have to do things that we don't like, that's life, but all of us have talents and abilities that God gave to us and that He expects us to use. Once we have learned how good it feels to accomplish something, it becomes easier to do those things we wish we didn't have to but know we should. A strong sense of duty drives us to be responsible and an asset to others.

God's way is best, it provides protection and purpose for us as well as a rich full life until He takes us home.

Colossians 3:23 "23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,"

Proverbs 90:17 "17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands."

Proverbs 12:11 "11 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense."

Proverbs 13:4 "4 A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."

Philippians 4:13 "13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Colossians 2:24 "24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Proverbs 12:24 "24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor."

Proverbs 14:23 "23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

1 Timothy 5:8 "8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

Jeremiah 29:11 "11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."