There is a difference between telling someone to “get to work” and in showing them that it is honorable and right. Far too many are good at telling their children to do their chores but don’t model good work for their children to see. That isn’t to say that they don’t go to work. But their children don’t see that activity. It is also needful to model work. Children need to see their father helping their mother.
Four men influenced me greatly when it comes to work. In each case, although I was often under their direction, I never got the sense that work was something they wanted me to do but that they would not do themselves. All four modeled energetic work and skillful work. The four men were my father, Clyde Winquist, my father-in-law Jerry Boyles, the CEO of Conney Safety Products Bruce Hagan and Dr. Glenn Franke.
My father was a mechanical engineer and inventor. But his work at Nordberg Manufacturing was all but invisible to me. However, when our Naperville Illinois basement foundation cracked in 1964, he modeled work by digging down to the bottom of the foundation and patched the wall inside and out. To help us learn about growing our own food, we planted a garden. Each child could have a plot of land to grow something too. Finally, it was clear that my father valued our local church. If painting, lawn mowing or teaching and serving needed to be done, he worked.
I made this pot from the clay we dug out to repair the basement wall. To most it looks like something to toss in the trash. To me it is a reminder of my dad’s hard work ethic. Set an example in work.
Proverbs 18:9 “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.”Proverbs 22:29 “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
Know Your Flocks & Herds 