The benefits of working for a living docx

The benefits of working for a living

Most of us would like to have been born with a silver
spoon in our mouths. We often envy the man who inherits
wealth, and who can therefore live a life of idleness and
pleasure. As we have not been born to riches, we
sometimes hope that we may some day suddenly become
rich by a lucky ticket in a lottery. Fancy not having to work
for one’s living.

Yet it is certainly a good thing for the community, and
probably a good thing for us, that we cannot live without
working. And, in our saner moments, we probably feel it is
a good thing on the whole that God from the first said to
man, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread”; and
recognize the soundness of the apostle’s rule, “If a man
will not work, neither let him eat!”

The necessity of working for a living gives a man the
proud spirit of independence. The beggar who lives upon
alms, the parasite who attaches himself to some rich
patron and earns his keep by insincere flattery, are types
which all right-minded people pity or despise. Why, then,
should we envy the idle rich, who live upon the wealth
produced by others, and, like drones in the hive, produce
no honey themselves? The worker earns his keep by
honest labor, and can look the world in the face, because
he owes no man anything. And while he supports himself
and his family with his own labor, he knows he is
contributing useful goods or services for the benefit of the
whole community. For him:

“Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees its close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose.”

Then again the regular daily work, which must be done,
produces good habits – such as perseverance,
application, punctuality, thoroughness, attention to details,
and the habit of industry. These virtues may be humdrum
and commonplace; but many a promising life has come to
nothing for lack of them. And no idler can acquire them.
So, blessed be drudgery!

Lastly, compulsory work is often necessary to bring out
and train a man’s talents. Many an author who has risen to
fame would never have written a book if he had not had to
earn his living by his pen; and many a successful
businessman would never have developed his gift for
organization and management, if he had been born rich.
How many of the rich and aristocratic classes ever do
anything of note? Most of us would remain undeveloped
and untrained if we could.