Arbeit Macht Frei

As I was driving along my route this morning, I reflected upon the day my wife has for our three older boys: house work. That’s right, house work. Does that sound & seem strange to you? I find it extremely satisfying and liberating. It satisfies on the one hand b/c I know that the discipline it takes my wife and I to train our boys to work is training us to be diligent as well. One the other hand (to quote Tevia, though not as a contrast), it also trains our boys to be workers themselves. As much as they hate it, it is training them in at least these areas:

1) Logic: in this area the boys learn to reason. Many times, they will say, but it’s so messy. And we will respond, “Yes, you are right. And who made the mess?”

“We did.”

“That’s right. Now who must clean this up?”

“We must.”

“That’s right. Now, let’s do a good job so we won’t have to do it over and so we won’t have to do it again so soon.”

OR

“But it’s so messy.”

“Yes. Now you know how hard it is to keep our home clean. Now you know how hard your mom and I have to work to keep it clean. But more importantly, now you know how important it is to put your clothes and toys and books and trash and games away, right away, all the way, and with a cheerful heart[listing these things makes a more impressive (oppressive?) an example].

2) Love: this is our family’s mantra, <em>OTHERS FIRST.</em> When we clean up we are loving our mother who takes care of us during the day and prepares to care for dad when he comes home from a long, hard day’s work. It also cares for each other when we put away others’ mess or trash . When we do this for each other in every instance we are saying to one another, “You are more important than I and I am doing this b/c I love you.”

3) Liberation: Here is the most important “L” in the list for the boys. Freedom. Herein lies their true motivation for their work. When the work is done, play can ensue. However, if it is not done well (refer to #1) it will be done again and again until it is done well. So to do the job well the first time is to ensure that liberation (not only to play, but to rest in doing a thing well ) of the hear, soul, mind, and strength happens.