Hand to the Plow

The photo in my post the other day that showed the farmer with his team pulling the plow got me thinking - thinking about work.  Actually, thinking about work ethic and some good rules to live by.  Rules, if implemented, that will not necessarily guarantee success, but will definitely get you going in the right direction. Now I am a Christian and I firmly believe that the Bible is God's Holy Word, written by mere men, but who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. That is where I go first in order to get the rules that I try to live by.

Hard work

But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:62

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Commitment

In our spiritual lives as well as our everyday life dealing with work issues, financial issues, parenting issues, etc., we must be committed.  We must stay focused on the true task at hand and not be distracted by 'shiny objects' that compete for our attention.  In looking at the photo above, determination and sticking with something to the end was key in getting the field plowed.  If you didn't finish, the crop didn't get planted and you didn't eat!

Likewise, if we start off in our Christian walk (notice the person originally put his hand to the plow) and then look back, we aren't really devoted or committed to Him in the first place and Jesus says we're not fit for His Kingdom.  Before we do anything else, we must examine ourselves to determine if we are truly of the Faith.  

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test? - 2 Corinthians 13:5

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Once we've gotten our spiritual house in order we can look to other areas.  I heard Dr. Walter E. Williams give a 5 Step Plan on "How not to be Poor" and it has stuck with me for years:

1) Graduate from high school

2) Get married before you have children
3) Stay married
4) Work at any kind of job
5) Avoid engaging in criminal behavior

We try to make it so difficult, but if you distill it down to those 5 things, you've definitely got some good momentum going for you.  The thing, however, that can throw a monkey wrench in all that is debt.  

Abraham Lincoln, back on January 1, 1863, signed the Emancipation Proclamation, an Executive Order that freed the slaves.  That was a bright spot in our Country's history and righted the evil of owning another human being, but you know what?  Many people willingly submit themselves to slavery each and every day. Hard to believe, I know.

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.  - Proverbs 22:7

When we purchase goods and services with money that we do not have, we become a slave to the person or institution that loaned us that money.  We should aim to budget and never let our expenditures exceed our receipts.  Yes, this involves sacrifice and the foregoing of things that you want until you have funds for it, but this will ensure your FREEDOM, your emancipation from financial servitude to JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, etc. etc.  I am debt averse.  

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another... Romans 13:8

We try very, very hard to avoid debt.  If you have debt, your security is in question.  You worry about losing everything if you lose your job and you wonder how you are going to pay the bills if someone gets sick. Being debt-free means that you may not drive the newest car, have the latest phone, or wear the trendiest fashions, but with a lack of debt, you've purchased peace of mind and freedom.  We have ratified a Balanced Budget Amendment at our house.  Is it asking too much that our politicians grasp this concept too?

Another good practice is to set goals and write them down.  According to Dave Kohl, a professor at Virginia Tech, "People who write down their goals earn nine times as much over their lifetimes than those who don't."  Further, a study by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University, "People who wrote down their goals, shared this information with a friend, and sent weekly updates to that friend were on average 33% more successful in accomplishing their stated goals than those who merely formulated goals."

Finally, we're not afraid of a little hard work.  We try to be self-sufficient and try to view life as a classroom and are always curious about learning new things, particularly things that enable us to be less dependent upon the worldly system.  

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We certainly haven't figured it all out and there are chapters left to be written, but we aim to keep our 'Hand to the Plow' and will not look back.