HAVE YOU CONSIDERED...

We celebrated Labor Day last week. I confess I do not understand all the ramifications of that particular holiday. I have observed through the years, however, that the work situation in America has greatly changed. The work week is shorter, the pay is better and many jobs are easier because of improved equipment to assist us in getting the job done.

My own work career began when I was 8 years old at the soda fountain of Starnes Drug Store in downtown Gaffney on Saturday afternoons. (You have to be a very senior citizen to even remember that store.) My pay was 50 cents. No, not per hour, but for the entire afternoon. OK, so the owners were close friends of my parents and the fact is I was probably over paid. As I ascended the corporate ladder, I later worked at Peoples Drug Store (you do not have to be quite as old to remember that one). This time I had an outside job. I delivered prescription drugs. By car? Nope, my trusty bicycle, pedaling all over Gaffney and often after dark. My title was "dray boy." Big deal, eh? Following that was the Winn-Dixie (where Hartzog's is now) and later Osborne's Men's store. In there somewhat was two years of delivering The Ledger on my bike all over west Gaffney. Then it was off to college. I have been working ever since continuing into retirement. For this I daily give God thanks.

On Labor Day a question came to mind: In 2008, are Americans better or lazier workers? I have seen episodes on TV of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" I am not a regular viewer. It is embarrassing and bad news for my self-esteem. Perhaps you have seen it. A question is asked and a contestant and a fifth grader square off to determine which one is the smartest.

I am not inclined to put my questions to a fifth grader. At that age they may be smart but they are not yet a part of the work force and know little about it.

As a Christian I am interested in God's answer. What is a Christian's responsibility about work? The Bible is very clear: "Even while we were still there with you, we gave you this rule: He who does not work shall not eat. Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to such people — we command them — to quiet down, get to work and own their own living. And to the rest of you, I say, dear brother, never be tired of doing right." (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

No question. If a person is able to work and has the opportunity to do so but refuses, God defines it as laziness and does not approve of it.

Science, however, has come up with a different view. Researchers at the University of N.C.- Charlotte suggest laziness may not be a person's fault. They claim a laziness gene turns some of us into human sloths. After giving an exercise wheel to more than 300 genetically mixed mice, they found that some mice ran five to eight miles a day while others ran less than a half-mile. One of the mice was so lazy, he piled up wood shavings and turned his bike into a bed. Therefore, they concluded that heredity accounted for the difference in the rodents' activity levels.

Interesting for sure, but I am inclined to accept the Biblical perspective. In Proverbs 6:6, the Bible suggests that laziness is linked to A LACK OF WISDOM. Consider this: "Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy fellow. LEARN FROM THEIR WAYS AND BE WISE! For though they have not king to make them work, yet they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, all you do is sleep. When will you wake up?...And as you sleep, poverty creeps upon you like a robber and destroys you."

Of course, you are free to answer for yourself and chart your own course. But, if God the Father works, the Son works, and the Holy Spirit works, why shouldn't we? The decision is a no-brainer for me. I choose wisdom and work over laziness, and pray that God will allow me and give the health and strength to die with my work boots on.

And besides, ants rather than mice appeal to me more as a role model!

(Dr. French O'Shields is a Gaffney native and a retired Presbyterian minister.)