Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Struggle and the Hustle

While we know struggling and hustling are by no means synonymous, I increasingly see a peculiar lack of drive in people who have never lacked, never wanted.

My question is this: Are we doing a disservice to our kids by providing too much for them? More questions still. By providing all their needs and possibly wants, have we killed their get-up-and-go? What's your take on this, people? How do we strike that balance between providing for them and going overboard to spoiling them. Where do we draw the line between housing a grown child for free without any responsibility required of them and helping out a grown child temporarily that is warranted and sometimes necessary.

I couldn't help noticing on the radio the other day that Gladys Knight and the two radio show hosts all said at some point, their mothers had been on food stamps. Yet on the other hand, there are scores of heirs and heiresses to huge business empires who will never do any more than squander the family resources literally. They feel absolutely no need to be gainfully employed or to learn how to make a living because they are already wealthy without it. And they add a good dose of irresponsible public behavior in the mix as a recipe for disaster.

We know that if God has blessed us to be able to provide well for the little ones he has placed in our care, we cannot then pretend that we do not have. How then do we instill these values in them? How do we work hard and make money to provide comfort for our family and still keep their drive? What kinds of conversation keep them in perspective and focused?
PEACE.

3 comments:

  1. Facebook comments:

    A.V.M.:Yeah. We have given too much without teaching how important work is. Parents who gave too much because of what they didn't have are now seeing the error of our ways.

    Folake Taylor: Trying to stay in perspective with Miss J but it's so hard to balance. I am trying to learn from what I have seen.

    A.V.M.:Its a slippery slope. Praying for you.

    Folake Taylor:Thank you. I need it, especially starting so late in the day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One thing I've heard that helps is giving children chores and responsibilities around the house. I'm sure you'll make a great parent Folake.

    ReplyDelete