On Monday, we celebrate the efforts of all America’s hardworking laborers. Labor Day became a US holiday in 1894 when President Cleveland signed a bill passed by Congress. This grew out of strikes and unrest arising from mistreatment of workers in the late 1800s. Some businesses considered their laborers expendable demanding long hours in unsafe conditions. Thankfully, those issues were addressed but it’s important that we never take America’s workers for granted.
In his book The Bread Basket, Paul Brubaker tells of an immigrant who had just arrived in the US. After completing entry requirements, he visited a cafeteria for lunch and sat down waiting to be served. After some time, another patron advised him that cafeterias are self-service and that you make your selections and pay at checkout.
Several years later, that immigrant observed that American life is similar to a cafeteria and remarked to a friend, “You can get anything you want if you’re willing to pay the price. You can even achieve success, but not if you wait for someone to bring it to you. You have to get up and get it yourself.” This man’s astute reflection is sorely needed today and someone else has observed that the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Speaking of dictionaries, Noah Webster spent 36 years writing his, underscoring the truth that valuable achievements do not occur accidentally. Although exaggerations report that Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before achieving the functional lightbulb, actual records do indicate that there were 2,774 unsuccessful attempts over 1½ years prior to illumination, and it took John Milton 7 years to finish his classic poem, Paradise Lost. The gifted orator Winston Churchill prepared about an hour for each minute of his powerful speeches. These lengthy periods were not due to laziness, as Milton arose at 4:00am each morning to compose and revise his work while Webster, Edison, and Churchill all worked many hours every day.
My dad passed on to me the truth that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even though it may have cost us nothing, someone had to labor to produce, process, transport, prepare, serve, and pay for it. Failure to understand this basic principle will result in either individual starvation, or if embraced nationally, economic collapse and depression. The immigrant’s words still ring true today. Success is achievable, but we should never expect nor demand someone to bring it to us.
Many fail to appreciate the diligence and hard work of businessmen and women, artists, and others who have become successful and achieved proficiency and excellence. God does create each person with gifts and abilities, but He expects us to develop, train, and improve them. Concert pianists practice hours each day preparing for one concert. Da Vinci, Michaelangelo and many artists today had or have natural talent, but they submitted to training, practiced, tried, failed, re-tried, and persevered persistently before becoming proficient. Powerful speakers and actors carefully plan, prepare, and rehearse their presentations. Let us never consider natural ability an excuse for not practicing or working, for sloth is still one of the seven deadly sins.
Speaking of sins, the greatest free gifts of all were purchased by Jesus’ loving, but excruciating labor for us. He worked diligently to live a perfect life before dying an agonizing death to pay for our free forgiveness, grace, and eternal life. Failing to understand this great spiritual truth will result in us taking Him for granted as well as presuming upon His mercy. Let us never forget the laborious and expensive price Jesus paid for our free eternal lunch!
Whether it’s the vocal precision of Dolly Parton, academic achievement in school, career success in any field, or our own spiritual growth, all of these require us to “apply ourselves,” as our parents would say, and work for it diligently. Labor Day is the perfect time to remember this important precept. Labor Day Blessings, George