Last week I was sitting in my hotel room in Colorado Springs. I turned the TV on for some background noise, no particular channel. I was blogging, so I wasn’t really listening to what was going on. Until something jumped out at me. Turns out it was MSNBC, and they were reporting on the jobless and how hard it was for them. I commend them on that, and I praise God that He lets me do what I do everyday! But the part that really got to me was when they said that one out of every five jobless persons…people…I dunno, have searched for a job for two months and then….wait for it….put their resumes up and stopped searching. WHAT?!?! And then what? No seriously, then what? Nothing?

They didn’t answer my questions, so I can only assume living off of the government is the answer. (I applaud those that aren’t giving up!) That’s pretty cool though, ’cause the government has the money. Oh wait, that’s tax money so WE are the ones they are living off of!! Dorks! Get your backside out there and find a job! Two months of, what I’m sure was an exhaustive effort, and you give up. What in the world must your life be like? I can tell you what the Bible says, it says…what does it say…oh yeah, the diligent prosper! Not the lazy sittin’ on my couch waitin’ for my unemployment check. Ugh!

Later at breakfast I was talking with Teresa Duke and explained what I had heard and her comment was, “I wouldn’t want to hire someone who gave up anyway.” Well put T! (I call her T.) Neither would I. She then went on to say, “My husband can’t hire anyone right now. He has plenty of applicants, but the quality is terrible. No morals, no communication skills, no human relations, and no education. They just don’t answer the interview questions right.”

I started working when I was fourteen years old. Once when I was nineteen I was laid off and unemployed for one short period of time. During that time, I went ballistic trying to get something that paid. It didn’t really matter; I understood the concept that you have to actually give money for food. And homeboy liked to eat. So this concept of try for two months and give up is just foreign to me. I would never be where I am now if that’s how I looked at life. Instead, I would have spent my life surviving. And while there’s nothing wrong with being a survivor, I believe surviving is a different situation all together. One is overcoming obstacles, and the other is living in them. Don’t just survive. Get back out there and change your life. Be diligent because God has promised that you will prosper. It may take more than two months, but don’t quit! You’ll be happy you didn’t!