"Family Matters"&nbsp;<br>
By Paul Kendall&nbsp;<br>
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A Good Work Ethic&nbsp;<br>
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A good work ethic is more valuable than gold. Actually, a good work ethic could produce a lot of gold. But, take a good look at our society and you will see many people who have little to no work ethics at all. 

The Bible is very clear concerning this. It says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “…if a man doesn’t work, neither should he eat.” When I was a boy, Saturday always started with cleaning the house. My brother Roy had to mow the lawn and I had to vacuum. Oh how I hated to vacuum! But the rule was; you couldn’t do anything fun until you finished your chores. 

I remember the day I discovered that some of my friends actually got paid for doing chores. They called it an “allowance”.  I was so excited to report to my parents this wonderful aspect of childrearing that they had – somehow – never learned! Come to find out… my father was well aware of “allowances” I also found out that I would not be getting the sudden windfall of cash I had expected!

You see, my father had this incredibly distorted philosophy that each member of the family should contribute to our home. Vacuuming was the least I could do to help out around the house. “But what about washing the dishes Dad… isn’t that worth a few bucks every week?” Well, added to his philosophy of “contribution” was a “theory” that washing dishes was teaching me something called “a good work ethic.” I didn’t even know what the word “ethic” meant. All I knew was I wasn’t going to get paid for doing the dishes anytime soon. 

Now, in all fairness to my father, I must say that he was very good to me and was quick to give me spending money in my teenage years. He even bought me my first car. But he insisted on teaching me family values and a good work ethic. I have worked for over thirty years and I can count the times I’ve called in sick on one hand. Most people describe my work as excellent. Hmmm… I wonder how that happened.

Now I have two children of my own. Every time they’ve brought up the subject of an “allowance” they’ve had to endure a long arduous story of my vacuuming, dish-washing, and even lawn-mowing when my brother got married and moved away and I was the only child left!  They’re about as excited to hear my story as I was when my father told me why I would not be getting an allowance.

The lawn has been the object of teaching my son a work ethic and cleaning the kitchen works the same for my daughter. A bone of contention around our home is the fact that we have a dishwasher in the kitchen but it has not been used since the day we moved in.  We also have a rather large yard but I refuse to get a riding mower. Now, before you think I’m just a mean Dad, I must tell you that I not only get in there and help my daughter wash dishes - I also help my son push that dreadful mower all around our yard. 

I can remember him complaining how difficult it was to mow the swell where the grass was especially thick - as though it was going to kill him! “I can’t push the mower thru there daddy!” he would say. And I would tell him “Growl at it… bite it!... tell that mower who’s the boss!”  And there were many times after he would say that he was finished that I would go out and see places where he missed and tell him to “go get the mower.” And not to mention the countless times I’ve heard “Daddy, do I have to mow the back yard too?!”  “No Son… just pray for God to put it on the heart of the neighbor’s boy to come mow it!… OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO MOW THE BACK YARD TOO!!”

I can also remember the day that Alex conquered mowing the yard - front and back.  He does and excellent job and, are you ready for this? These days he actually gets paid for it! Opinions of allowances aside – I know you want your children to grow up with a good work ethic. But it’s not just going to miraculously happen. So, devise your own plan to teach them a good work ethic - and most importantly, be involved with them in the process. One day, they will thank you for it. 

I’m glad that I was taught a good work ethic because, every Saturday morning, guess what my wife wants me to do? You got it… VACUUM! 

That's Family Matters... I'm Paul Kendall.&nbsp;<br>
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Paul Kendall is the host of the popular syndicated radio program "Family Matters" and author of a new book by the same name. Radio programs, family resources and much more are available at
<a href="http://www.KendallFamilyNetwork.com">www.KendallFamilyNetwork.com</a>.<br>
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