Taking Your Medicine by Dr. Juan Harrison

The famous philosopher and singer Kris Kristofferson once sang, “Why me, Lord?”  Probably just about every person alive, believer or not, may have asked that question a time or two with regards to some load we’re carrying as we bury up to our knees in the mud holes of life.  

One day I saw a sign saying,“Why not me?”  It’s not in most of our natures to pull a Rocky and say, “Bring it on.”  Pat Benatar used to belt out the lyrics, “Hit me with your best shot. Fire away.”  Wish I could say I was that tough, but I’m not.  The Apostle Paul would list off all the trials he’d endured for his following Christ just to keep us humble if we ever get to thinking we’re something special for enduring some painful experiences or surviving some trial that may have been sent our way.

A lot of us older guys are a tad worried about the newest crop of youngers.  Some have tossed around the word snowflake.  We’re not really confident that they have experienced enough challenges or setbacks in their short pampered, spoiled life to prepare for the hard times that are certain to come their way.  A lot of us have a sneaking suspicion that we may have helped contribute to their seemingly entitled selves as we may have thought or even said, “I want my kids to have it better than I did growing up.”

Seems like there’s this inherent mechanism inside us that pushed us or drove us to work our tails off so that our kids could have and do whatever the world was telling us was needed to help make our kids fit in with all their peers.  Hardly anyone wanted to be singled out as different.

Looks like some of that softness and aversion to hard work and challenges may be affecting the brief tenure for young marriages.  Seems like there’s a growing impatience in the youngers who appear to want to get it all now and figure out how to pay for it later.  There doesn’t seem to be a lot of commitment to jobs and work, if you don’t like your work situation, just hop up and leave.  Look around for the next highest bidder for you services.

It almost seems like we can take the word “permanent” out of our vocabulary.  Maybe it’s simply the times we’re living in with the question guiding much of what we do, “What have you done for me lately?”  I’m not sure what we’ve taught our young about perseverance and hanging in there when the going gets tough.  As a parent I don’t like to have to see my kids struggle as they reach for the brass ring, but I know this.  The medicine may taste bad going down, but maybe it will help keep them well.

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