At the dawn of history, God called man to work as his servant. Genesis 2:15 states that God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of it. It is a disgrace to be lazy. Proverbs 10:5 says, ‘he who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son’.
The preceding scriptures are referring to work done practically, not spiritually. Nobody can prosper in life whilst sitting idle. It is people who have idle time who are more vulnerable. The Devil uses idle minds and bodies to manifest his evil works. Our brains and bodies have to be kept busy in a godly way in order to glorify God.
Teaching children to work at an early age helps them grow into responsible adults.
As parents, we should not draw lines as to what a child can or cannot do. Here, I am referring to delegating work according to sex. Boys and girls should learn to cook, do laundry, cleaning the house, wash the dishes, baby sit siblings, set the table for meal times and go to the maize mill. The children should be taught to make their own beds and clean their bedrooms.
However, we ought to consider their age so as not to impose heavy tasks on small children. All this should be done in love, not as punishment.
The home is the best training ground for children. When such a child grows up, they will have no problem looking after themselves. This also helps to develop respect for anyone that comes to help with manual work in the home.
It becomes an easy task to supervise an assistant in the home when one is knowledgeable of what is expected to be done. A woman is never complete until she knows her chores well and a man is never respected until he performs to the best of his capability.
Training a child to do manual work is not torture. It teaches them survival skills. You are helping them become practical people who will be able to face the realities and responsibilities of life. Even at the demise of their parents, they will be acceptable in society and will be helpful to others.
