By David Hegg
By nature, we choose the easy way. This used to be called the way of least resistance, but increasingly we could call it the way of greatest convenience. We are fast becoming a people whose first desire is personal comfort and convenience. We want what we want, and we want to enjoy it with as little effort as possible.
More and more, we are losing the benefit of choosing to do something hard on purpose because we’ve trained ourselves to want the most return for the least investment. We want to work less while making more, and dream about the days when we can do nothing while our previous investments produce a steady revenue stream. Apparently, the American Dream is no longer about building a better society for those who come after us. Now it is all about getting as much as we can, as easily as we can, and as soon as we can, so we can spend the rest of our lives living for ourselves. But we are blind to the fact that character, and much we honor in terms of virtue, come only through the furnace of trial, and on the anvil of hard work.
Ironically, we spend much of our leisure time watching professional athletics. The irony here is that the most successful athletes are the ones who have, for years, chosen to do the hard things. They are the ones who are in the weight room daily, who choose a greatly restricted diet, who stay longer in practice, fire up more practice shots, run longer, do more sit-ups, and have established a commitment to do the hard things so that they can beat those who opted to do less. Somehow that gets missed by the audience. We see them as doing very little compared to what they receive, but in reality, they have a long history of choosing to do the hard things.
Several years ago, two teenagers, Alex and Brett Harris, wrote a book for their fellow teens in America. They subtitled their book “A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.” In it, they call on America’s youth to intentionally choose hard things to build the character needed to be well-rounded contributors to society. I love the book, but am saddened that such a clarion call was necessary. I’m even more saddened that, as adults who crave convenience and live for leisure, we’ve been shaping our kids to crave ease and run from hard. Ask any teacher or business owner, and they’ll tell you many of our youth don’t know how to work, follow directions, or handle situations that demand extra effort. Viewing life through the lens of self-interest, comfort and convenience won’t build individuals who persevere through trial and aren’t afraid to choose the difficult road when it is the best option. Sadly, it took a couple of teens to write a book to set us all straight.
The simple truth is that, more often than we want to admit, the right thing is the hard thing. More importantly, the strength of character that doing the hard, right thing demands isn’t built in a moment. It comes from choosing to do hard things every day, building our strength of will and virtue. We have to master our own wills, emotions and dreams. And that will take a kind of personal discipline that is hard at first.
When the body wants to sleep, the hard thing is to get up and get going. When the mind wants to veg, the hard thing is to make a plan and get something accomplished. When the heart wants to hate, the hard thing is to restrain the anger in the name of love, and when the eyes want to turn away from those in need, the hard thing is to re-train them to see beyond the appearance to the fact that here is a fellow human being that we can help. Turns out doing the hard but right thing can not only strengthen our character but also benefit our fellow human travelers on the path of life.
Doing the hard things doesn’t come naturally, or easily. Then again, character doesn’t, either. Character and virtue grow when circumstances oppose us, when the road ahead is uphill and rugged, but we gather our courage and strength and walk on. Taking the easy way only sets us up to be run over when something really hard comes along.
So, take the challenge today. Do some hard things that need doing. Get off the couch and break a sweat. Nourish your soul with hard things, and we’ll all be better off for it in the long run.
Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.
