“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” Proverbs 13:4
We all have a fantasy that we can read a proverb such as this one to our children and the Holy Spirit would immediately go to work in them to help them see the importance of a strong work ethic. Perhaps God refrains from an instant miracle because he wants to work on our work ethic as well! Certainly, he has given us all a long road of hard labor and dependence on Him as we
attempt to raise our children to persist when things get difficult.
If we think of our own experiences, we realize that we learned to work hard when we cared about something.
Self-discipline results when we want something badly as well as believe it is possible to achieve. Why is
self-discipline important? Recent research into academic achievement has shown that self-discipline is a better predictor of success than intelligence (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005). However, great achievement, in school or in life, does not come easily. So how do we teach our children to persist on tasks until they reach success?
First, we must make sure our children know who they are. God created them with a goal in mind. Nothing about them is an accident and this life is too precious to waste. God has given them certain gifts that He intends them to use. What are their gifts? What do they think is their purpose? What does God want them to do in this life?
God has high expectations, and so should we as parents. God also knows our weaknesses, and so he does not give us more than we can handle. As parents, our expectations should be reasonable and include lots of smaller successes along the way. We all need encouragement. Help your child come up with goals that will take hard work, but can be accomplished.
Confidence is important. Our children take their cues from us. We can’t just tell them we believe in them. We must prove our confidence in their abilities by sincerely backing off and letting them handle it. We can stand alongside to offer encouragement and help if necessary, but stumbles and mistakes made along the way often make the achievement of a goal much sweeter. Even more importantly, success after struggle builds “grit”—an indispensable combination of persistence and strength.
We must also show them what working hard looks like. Talk to them as you try to solve a hard problem such as fixing a leaky faucet at home. What do you do when your first solution doesn’t work? Take them to the hardware store. Ask them for their input on what should be tried next. Show them that difficult problems require overcoming frustration and steadily applying thought and effort to solve. Interestingly, isn’t this the character trait that we point to most when explaining the American spirit?
As always, seeing from God’s point of view gives clear understanding. This world is our proving ground, not our reward. If we have Christ, we are already saved, so now we are free to apply ourselves heartily to the work He has given. Rest will come in His good time. Now is the time to get to work!
Jennifer Cable
Elementary Principal