Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain
I’ve developed a theory. I would like to share it with you. I’m going to dispense this without doing any research into this theory already being prevalent in pre-existing religions, societies or schools of thought.
I’m not arrogant enough to assume this hasn’t been mentioned by someone, somewhere at some time. I do believe, however, this mode of thought has been replaced with an undeserved sense of entitlement.
Live everyday working to deserve what you have. Work to deserve your life. Work to maintain your relationships. Work to maintain your loves. Work to maintain your spirit. Work to maintain your body.
Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Theodore Roosevelt
Society is wrought with people who are obsessed with being owed something. They live to be owed something. They are typically not gainfully employed, but instead rely on credit to live beyond their means. The United States is a prime example of a society of people who feel owed something. Society has done nothing but tell minorities they are owed something because they’re minorities. People have lost sight of the hard workers who built this country and instead of putting their name on the list of contributors; they revel in the ability to reap benefits without tasting their own sweat to earn them.
God Bless the U.S. military, their families and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
God Bless policemen, their families and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
God Bless firefighters, their families and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
God Bless public servants, their families and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
These are people who are going to ensure the world is something our future generations are going to want to inherit. The catch is future generations are going to inherit it anyway. Those people are going to ensure its worth something.
Society has borne a generation of people who believe, unflinchingly in their own merit whether this merit exists or not. The mere, involuntary act of drawing breath serves as validation enough to convince them of their irreplaceable station in life. They wake up in the morning at the height of their awesomeness and that’s enough for them to maintain friendships.
Friendships must be earned and maintained by way of a trust that builds as a result of availability. Friends should be seen as anti-stressors. Friends should be willing and able to absorb stress for their friends. Friend ‘A’ is trying to move and has thousands of things to do. Instead of friend ‘B’ calling ‘A’ looking for help or a favor, ‘B’ should help to absorb some of the stress and help out ‘A’.
I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.
Robert BraultWhen a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.
Edward W. Howe
Society has embraced divorce with such verve that people rarely find it necessary to work to maintain their loves. Earn the love of your spouse every day. Earn it. While the vows taken before God are binding, we are a fickle species who need constant reaffirmation and renewal to maintain our love. Wives must be told they’re pretty. Husbands must be told their wives feel safe and provided for. Marriage is one of the most fascinating social experiments.
Marriage is two people agreeing to become one and live out their lives supporting and loving each other. The fascinating part is that don’t always love each other, support each other and sometimes they may appear to be each other’s worst enemy. Marriages work when selfishness isn’t present. Marriages work when both parties work every day to deserve the love of the other. The partnership starts to dissolve when the balance of entitlement shifts for too long. There are some times when one party will need more support than the other and it’s important to lend that support, but asking your wife or husband to dispense the majority of the support for too long will tear two people apart. Resentment builds and nothing positive gets accomplished. For the majority of the time if both parties work to deserve the love of the other, both of their needs will be met.
Everyone is comprised of a cluster of spheres. Mind, Body, Spirit, Public, Family, Occupation and each of these has sub-spheres.
Mind – Education, Philosophy etc
Body- Nutrition, Health, Fitness etc
Spirit – Religion, Philosophy etc
Public- Friends, Coworkers, Strangers, Acquaintances etc
Family – Blood, Marriage, Friends etc
Occupation – Hobbies, Work etc
I’ve noticed that with the burgeoning of societal undeserved entitlement there have been a increasing amount of people crossing my path who are overwhelmingly deficient in so many of these areas, but their sense of undeserved entitlement allows them to freely dispense advice to the masses regarding areas they are blatantly deficient in. I also believe this undeserved entitlement blinds people to their deficiencies and their standards are so low that just waking up in the morning is enough of an accomplishment, lending them the authority to offer advice and dispensing drivel.
For example: If you are overweight, aren’t going to college, don’t have a job and can’t hold onto relationships in your life; why do you see yourself as an expert on anything? That’s only one example of the type of person I’ve come across lately. This person is adamant about having everything figured out and will readily dispense advice or solutions to problems.
People who work hard to deserve their life, loves, station build credibility with their success. Not everyone who reads this is a Christian, people attribute their success to a host of different inspirations or schools of thought. I attribute my success to God enabling and blessing me with the ability to make sound decisions, accomplish things and keep my spheres in concert with each other and any outside influence that might seek to disrupt my forward progress.
I wish you the best.
“You deserve nothing without work” -WP
