The Penn's Grove record., 1911-08-11
The Joy
ST
Hard Work
Eugene Thwing in
Che Christian Herald

49, world is work done heart
HJSN. lily and well. To every man
NW#NK and woman it is given to
m know the Joy and dignity
of labor, yet thousands re-
fuse the precious gift and blindly
complain of the grinding, crushing
toll" which is the curse Of their
lives" while others, ever more pitia-
Bile, regard labor with contempt and
try to shut out the laborer from
good society,"" We read in a contem-
porary that much humbug is drooled
about the dignity of labor There
is a great deal more dignity in rest.
People work because they have to, not
because they want to. To be sure.
some folks pretend or really think
that they do like work. Such a feel
ing, If genuine, is a preversion arising
from habit. Not only is there no
merit in work, but the institution it
self has a d~isgraceful origin and
springs from the crafty counsels of
the serpent, more subtle than any
beast of the field, from the apple and
feminine curiosity and Adams mex
perience. AS a reminder and me-
mortal Of original sin, labor and the
bread eaten in the sweat of the face
are justly painful to every sensitive
SOUL"
The writer who so bitterly breaches
rebellion against the richest and most
blessed thing in life has not read his
Bible Alright. Work had no such orr
gin as he describes. "In the begin
ming" God himself set the example of
work, and when his great task was
done he looked his work owe land
behold 1t was very good" He felt the
satisfaction which comes from work
well done, and he rested on the
seventh day from all his work" The
very first gift to man, before sin
came, was work. He was commanded
to 'replenish the earth and subdue
it." That mighty task has kept him
busy from that day until now.
Christ's word to man was, MY Father
worketh hitherto and l work.
The works that l do shall We do also,
and greater works than these shall
We do" Thus work had the loftiest
possible origin, imparting to it a dig
nifty and nobility beyond measure.
Wrong View of Work.
When work might be made to fill
the life with glory, isn't it a pity that
so many insist upon making 1t a
drudgery and regarding it with gloom
and hopelessness? Where there is
no vision the people perish" When
once the eye OF the soul has beheld
the vision, life and all 1t holds is
transformed. Hard work becomes ex-
hilarating pleasure; labor becomes
service; obstacles become opportuni-
ties. The difference is in the worker
rather than in the work.
No one ever really enjoys hard work
which employs only muscles and
nerve and brain. The heart must be
In 1t. Every effort must carry with
1t a passionate interest and desire.
Every moment must contain the in
diligence of a wish, must be a step
ping-stone of an ambition. There is
a way to connect the most common
place labor that needs to be done
with the great movement of the
worlds progress and uplift.
When the new parliament buildings
of the Dominion of Canada were being
reared, a visitor stopped to speak to a
number of workmen who were cutting
stone. The visitor asked n man
what he was doing, and replied that
he was earning two dollars and a half
a day. He asked a second man the
same question, and pointing to a
chart spread before him the man said
he was trying to make the stone on
which he was working correspond
witt, the chart. A third man was
asked what he was doing. All three
men were, to outward appearances,
engaged in precisely the same work.
Blu, the third man let his mallet rest
a moment, and Strengthening himself
up. pointed proudly to the great
building. the graceful lines of which
were beginning to show In the mas
siye pile above them. He thought OF
the glory of the completed building,
and what 1t meant, and he replied
eagerly, Il am helping to make that
This man had a vision; he was doing
some ning worth while. The task OF
earning money nay not be worth
while: the task of blindly following a
nattern may not be worth while; but
to have a part in making something
good-whether 1t be a cathedral or a
characteristic is worth while.
Labor Should Be Matter of Love.
Work must be an expression of love
some definite love which can find
in no other way SO satisfying an ex-
pression. That man who was enjoy
Ing his work with mallet and chisel
loved his province, loved his nation.
and loved his sovereign. Their glory
was his glory, and to enhance their
glory was his Joy. The same rule holds
true in the kitchen, or the barn, or
the Office. Household duties are In
tolerable when they are done without
the light and JOY of love; but the girl
who would rather sweep the floor
ond wash the dishes In order that
mother may have an hour more of
rest-tha girl, If you will pen the
door Just now, you will find singing at
her work. All work is service; all
worthy service may be an expression
of love, and owe is the essence of JOY.
The inevitable conclusion is that all
work, to bring real Joy to the worker,
must take him out of himself-must
in some way, directly Of indirectly, be
service for others. S~elfishness seeks
for Joy and finds it not. Unselfish
service finds joy without searching.
Every achievement, every realization
of a blessing conferred upon another,
is an inspiration and an incentive to
| further effort. The power to change
the life OF another man. or woman, or
| child. is a wonderful responsibility.
When that power is used to bless, the
Joy it brings Is beyond measure.