LABOR DAY

It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.   -- Theodore Roosevelt

To work is to do. Theodore Roosevelt referred to the group of people who got up daily and worked as the "Fellowship of the Doers." As he stated he had a "great admiration for men who were fearless and could hold their own in the world." He had a great desire to be like them. Dietrich Bonhoeffer likewise saw Christianity as a the call to to be in action, to be a "doer," and not just a person who embraced the notion of Christ as the Son of God as a mere idea which had no effect on our lives. As Bonhoeffer saw it we were to be transformed into action by our faith. 

But what is it that stops us from going out and doing the work. Too often it is the fear of doing, the fear of the critics who will judge our work, and may ultimately judge us as a failure. We must be aware though that it is not the critics who create the world, it is those who see the work and get it done. So on this Labor day weekend 2011, look around in your world, see the work to be done, pick up your jack hammer, and join the "fellowship of the doers." Best to you in all of your endeavors.