Something To Crow About

Yesterday was my regular day off and the only day that Florence and I have off together normally. It was a gorgeous day, as you know, and I was sitting outside drinking a coffee in the early morning sun listening to the crows. We have a family of crows who live in the trees out across from our front door and they are noisy creatures, especially these days because they have babies. Florence calls them ‘big babies’ because they are so big that it is difficult to tell the difference between them and the parent birds, except they are the ones that squawk continually to be fed. It all has the appearance of being, in a word – ridiculous.

But it got me thinking about how sometimes the same thing can happen to people. Adults living with their parents isn’t new but there has been a change. It used to be that young adults stayed home to work the farm. Now, many stay home to avoid having to work. It used to be that young people might choose to stay home out of a sense of responsibility for their parents, or other family members. Now, a lot of the time, they stay home just to avoid taking responsibility for their own lives.

I am reminded of a statement that Paul made to the Corinthians:

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
1Cor 16:13 NIV

But it is actually the more literal translation that I was thinking of:

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”
1Cor 16:13 NASB

Maturity is the issue. I remember well growing up, how we were forced to work. This is not one of those “had to walk to and from school uphill both ways” kind of stories either. We played plenty, but it was often only after the work was done, almost as a reward for the work done; which is an important concept – work before play. Whether it was a long row of garden to be weeded, or a woodpile to be carried, or a sink full of dishes to be washed, it had to be done. And we often squawked, not unlike those crows I can hear even now, but we did it. And now, of course, I am thankful that my parents trained us in how essential it is to learn to ‘carry our weight'.

I heard pastor and author Erwin McManus worry aloud one time how he fears that we may be raising a generation of ‘takers’. Not only would this be disastrous for them, and detrimental for society, it is also clearly in opposition to the way of life taught in the Scriptures.

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
1Thess 4:11,12

“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
2Thess 3:6-10