Why Do You Labor?

The age in which we live is probably more intrusive into family life than any other time. Distractions abound, and the call of worldly success is hard to ignore. But there's always a cost. Time invested in the pursuit of worldly fame and fortune must be withdrawn from the account of home and family. We cannot serve two masters.

There are times when we may find ourselves entangled in seemingly trivial details. Mundane minutia raise questions about our decision to labor in the not-so-glamorous field of building homes and families. Why, then, do we do it?

Because there are some behind us who are watching, some who will do as we do, some who will follow in our footsteps. They are our children, inexperienced and tender. Our time to mold and teach them is ever so short, and it must not be squandered for that which will never satisfy--or endure the test of time.

When our son was small, I would sometimes challenge him with a choice... just to see what his response might be. I would usually say something like this:

"Let's don't go see Jenny tonight. I'm too tired." (Jenny was his retarded sister.)

His reply was always the same, always with feeling, and always with determination. "Yes, we are too going! If we don't go, who will?"

And that's the whole sum of the matter in a nutshell. If we don't labor for home and hearth, who will?


WHY DO YOU LABOR?

Please tell me, my friend, why do you labor,
Caught up in duties so mundane and trite?
Surely you're one who could have done better,
Held jobs more worthy and noble and bright.

You could have had honors and loftiest praise
And worldly success and all that attend,
Had you but taken the time to pursue them,
Had not commitment to home reigned you in.

I'll tell you, my friend, why I have labored,
Why your suggestion has not been my quest.
Worldly success you speak of so highly
May gain you the good but cost you the best.

I labor because of those in my family
Who by my actions will learn how to live.
God only grants a brief time to labor;
My family deserves the best I can give.

Though in the rays of dawn I first started,
Day is now waning as shadows fall dark.
While light remains this vision compels me:
Eternal treasure in home and in hearth.

(Copyright 1999 James McAlister)

Copyright 2001 James McAlister

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