Do Work Son - Part II

There are plenty of hardworking young men today, so I’m not interested in another lazy generational caricature. But something has changed. Pew’s analysis of government data found that in 1970, 98% of young men ages 25–34 with a high-school education were either working or looking for work. Today, that number is drastically lower.

Complex economic and social factors drive those numbers. But there is also a spiritual question worth asking: Have we discipled a generation to believe that ease is the goal?

Avoid discomfort. Minimize responsibility. Optimize leisure. Wait for the perfect opportunity. Don’t go the 'extra mile' and don’t do anything 'beneath you.'

That is not how men are built.

Every Friday I lead a men’s bible study at my church. EVERY Friday. The only Friday we take off is Christmas, if it falls on a Friday. And, because I practice what I preach, EVERY Friday we provide breakfast. Sausage and/or chicken biscuits. When you gather men, feed them [Cardinal Rule of Ministry to Men].

Most weeks we go to Whataburger. I think Whataburger has trash breakfast. Don’t email me. I said it.

Chick-Fil-A has incredible breakfast. The burritos. The minis. The spicy biscuit. Heavenly manna.

Chick-fil-A opens at 5:30A. Bible study is at 6AM. For weeks we tried to get Chick-fil-A to make us 70 chicken biscuits to be picked up at 5:40A. They told us that they can’t do it. The truth is, they won’t.

Forget the fact that I am spending $6,000 a year on biscuits with their competitor next door… Why won’t they make the biscuits? Seventy biscuits. Once a week. A paying customer standing there saying, "I’ll buy them. I’ll be here at 5:40."

Could somebody come in fifteen minutes earlier? Could somebody prep differently? Could a manager figure it out? Maybe. Maybe there are policies, labor rules, or logistical problems I don’t understand. I doubt it. It feels like they simply lost the instinct that says, "We’ll figure it out."

My dad had that instinct. The men I grew up around had it. "I can’t" wasn’t an option. People who said "I can’t" didn’t eat.

The job is hard? Do it anyway.

Something broke? Fix it.

Nobody wants the shift? Take it.

The family needs money? Work another hour.

Not because work was their god. Not because they neglected the sabbath. But because responsibility belonged to somebody, and a man didn’t spend much time wondering whether that somebody ought to be him. Well-rested and well-fed rarely went hand in hand.

It seems that we have forgotten that there is dignity in work. The world would be a better place if we would just take the shift. Sweep the floor. Learn the trade. Show up early. Be the last to leave. Carry something heavy. Do the job nobody wants. Stop asking whether the work is impressive and start asking whether it is yours to do.

Instead of making excuses, just make the biscuits.

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A man who learns to work is learning far more than how to earn a paycheck. He is learning endurance. Responsibility. Patience. Humility. Sacrifice. Provision. Faithfulness.

My father didn’t have the educational opportunities I had. He didn’t have letters behind his name. He worked steel, glass, and concrete.

All these years later, after the college degrees, graduate schools, seminary, books, classrooms, and white collars, I realize one of the most important educations I ever received came from watching a tired man get up before the sun, put on his work boots, and provide for his family.

I thought I escaped King’s Forest. Turns out, I carried the best part of it with me. Thanks, Dad. You taught me how to work.

For the King,

— Harp

PSS: If anyone at Chick-fil-A Little Road in Arlington wants to make some extra coin… I need 70 spicy biscuits every Friday morning. Let me know. I’m buying!

Speaking of work… Every year I spend 4 days in Montana with my friends at Gospel Family Ministry on a working cattle ranch. Me and 10 other men. We fly fish, travel the Road to the Sun [Glacier National Park], forge a knife from a railroad spike, and work on some life planning all under the shadow of the Bitterroot Mountains in Western Montana. This year’s trip is Sept. 20-24. They have a few spots left. Any interest? Hit me back if so!