A childhood lesson in the cornfields that revealed a lifelong biblical truth
Growing up, my dad used to always tell me, “A man has to work hard.”
That was one of the first lessons he taught me.
When I was 12 years old, he sent me to the cornfields of Illinois to detassel corn because he wanted me to learn how to work.
And man, if you’ve ever detasseled corn, you know that work was HARD.
You’re out in the summer heat, walking through rows of corn all day, pulling tassels off stalk after stalk. You’re hot. You’re tired. Your feet hurt. And you get up the next morning and do it all over again.
And the worst part?
I was doing all of that for $3.35 an hour!
I did that for four summers until I was finally old enough to get what I considered a “real job” at McDonald’s flipping burgers.
Throughout high school, I was a two-sport athlete, playing football and running track, and I still worked 20 to 30 hours a week.
Why?
Because my dad wanted me to learn how to be a hard worker. He wanted me to develop grit, discipline, perseverance and diligence. He wanted me to understand that when something needed to be done, you didn’t make excuses. You figured out a way to get it done.
My dad went to be with the Lord 13 years ago. He wasn’t a man who dug deeply into the Bible, but looking back, I realize he was teaching me the truth of Scripture.
Proverbs 12:24 says:
“Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.”
Pause for a moment and think about what that means.
Diligent hands will rule.
People who are willing to find out what needs to be done and then DO IT are the people who eventually become leaders. They show up. They take chances. They develop ideas. They have vision. They possess grit and toughness. They don’t spend their lives waiting for somebody else to make something happen for them. They get up and go to work.
But Scripture gives us the other side too:
“Laziness ends in forced labor.”
If you refuse to discipline yourself, eventually your circumstances will begin making decisions for you. Instead of creating opportunities, you become dependent on the opportunities someone else gives you. Instead of determining your future, somebody else begins determining it for you.
I always tell my kids, “You can either discipline yourself, or someone else will discipline you.” Either way, discipline is coming. The question is whether you will choose it for yourself or allow your circumstances to choose it for you.
I think we’re seeing some of that in our country today. We have young people being sold the idea that success should come without sacrifice, that someone else should provide what they need, and that the easier path is somehow the better path. I believe that helps explain some of the growing attraction to socialism and the promise that government can provide things people would otherwise have to work to obtain.
But there is no substitute for hard work. No government program can give you grit. No handout can give you discipline. No shortcut can replace diligence.
The people who are willing to work hard, take chances, pursue a vision, get knocked down and get back up are usually the people who eventually find themselves leading.
Now, that doesn’t mean every hardworking person will become wealthy or hold some important title. Biblical leadership is bigger than a position. It means you aren’t allowing laziness to dictate your future. You’re taking responsibility for what God has placed in your hands.
There’s good news and bad news in this verse. The bad news is nobody can develop diligence for YOU. Your parents can teach it, your boss can encourage it, and your pastor can preach about it, but eventually you have to decide to work.
The good news is YOU get to make that decision. You can choose diligence and discipline. You can choose to work when others won’t. You can take responsibility instead of making excuses and develop the gifts, opportunities and resources God has placed in your hands.
My dad taught me that lesson in a cornfield when I was 12 years old. I didn’t particularly appreciate it while I was sweating in those Illinois cornfields for $3.35 an hour.
But all these years later?
I’m thankful he did.
Because Scripture was right all along:
“Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.”
So the question is simple:
Which one are you going to be?
Alex Bryant is a pastor, author, and speaker who writes about race, faith, and culture in America.
