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Key Bible Verse: Lazy people are a pain to their employer. They are like smoke in the eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge (Proverbs 10:26). Bonus Reading: Proverbs 6:6-11; 28:19

While putting myself through college, I worked in a grocery store with two other guys. One was a 6'9" basketball star whose coach had arranged the job for him so he could pick up some spending money. He thought the job was a lark. The other fellow, Tom, was slightly retarded. The basketball player made Tom the butt of every joke. Yet I learned much by watching Tom bag groceries. Whether there was one or fifty persons in line, he never got flustered. He'd carefully place one can at a time in the sack, not allowing pressure to force him into speed-induced error.

The marvelously coordinated basketball player, when he wanted to, could bag groceries like a whirlwind. With one hand he could bag groceries faster than Tom could with both hands. But then the athlete would start clowning or take a break in the back when he was supposed to be bagging. Worse still, he was rude to the boss and to customers. The manager fired that basketball star in front of us all. He pointed at Tom and told that star, "You see this kid? You don't think much of him do you? He's worth his weight in gold, and you're not worth a dime!"

—Mark Rutland in Character Matters

My Response: Is my work performance a good example to others?

Thought to Apply: Determined workers are able because they think they are able.—VIRGIL (Roman poet)

Adapted from Character Matters (Charisma, 2003) by permission.

Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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