The Bum Off the Street

Read: Ecclesiastes 9:10-1


Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
                                                                                                          Ecclesiastes 9:10


     A growing problem with young men today is they lack the desire to make something of themselves. Video games, the internet, and television has turned many of them into lazy slouches who have no motivation to become anything useful in life. They may not be a “bum on the street” with a change cup at the end of their outstretched hands, but they have certainly become bums who happen to have a place to live and decent clothes to wear. Previous generations of Americans had to struggle for everything they had, but those struggles produced a drive in them that propelled America to become the great nation that it is. The last couple of generations, however, myself included, have been given so much that the tendency has become to depend upon what they have been given rather than getting out and making a way for themselves. Perhaps that is one of the reasons America has fallen behind the rest of the world in so many critical areas including science, math, ingenuity, and the like.

     I am not suggesting that young people should throw off everything they have been given just so life will be difficult for them. A difficult life does not automatically make a man. But this generation of young people should have far exceeded their parents’ and grandparents’ productivity because of how many advantages have been afforded them from their ancestors. Modern conveniences should have aided Americans in their work ethics, not made them lazy. A person with nothing or a person with everything is sculpted by what desire lies inside them.

     The solution is simple. Get off the couch, get out of the house, and get busy. As you are waiting to see what God would have you do for your life, make the most of your time. Don’t just sit around and act like a bum. Find a man in your church willing to hire you for the summer and learn his trade. With everything available online, it should be easy to pick up skills and put them into practice. Get a lawn mower and go cut grass in the neighborhood – learn some business sense. Even after you have graduated from school, you can still attend classes that will further your knowledge of a subject that interests you. Do something! God will never reward laziness. Don’t be the bum off the street or you might very well turn into the bum on the street.

Quote of the day: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.”
                                                                                                                            – Oscar Wilde