Thanks from a Happy Workhorse

So, as announced last week, here is my 1,000^th blog post, including the first tentative one I made in July 2009. I am posting this with deep gratitude to those of you who have read my posts through the years—and especially to you who have taken the time and energy to post or email comments. 

Cover of the book with
100 of my 1,000 blog posts.

These 1,000 blog posts have been made by a happy “workhorse.” As I wrote in the post made in November 2016, during the academic year of 1981-82 when I was back in Missouri on a missionary “furlough,” I had the privilege of teaching at William Jewell College.

Dr. David O. Moore (1921~2016), my professor/benefactor/friend, was on sabbatical, so I had the privilege of using his faculty office (and library) during that wonderful year. Hanging on the wall of his office there was a horseshoe with the accompanying words, “God loves a happy workhorse.”

I resonated with those words, as I had up until then—and have also since then—seen myself as a “workhorse,” that is, as a person who is not flashy (like a racehorse) but a “plodder.” That had/has been my modus operandi up until then, and since.

Recently I asked ChatGPT about the characteristics of a workhorse. Since I actually drove workhorses as a boy back in the late 1940s, I expected an answer about horses. I was surprised that the response was about persons.

The first sentence from the chatbot was, “A workhorse is typically a reliable and hardworking individual who is able to handle a large workload and complete tasks efficiently and effectively.”

Well, I don’t know how effective I have been, but what I learned as a farmboy about working hard became a lifelong characteristic. (But now, in my 85^th year, I have decided to quit working so hard.)

I also asked ChatGPT what it means to say that God loves a happy workhorse.

The response explained that “God values hard work, perseverance, and dedication . . . individuals who are willing to put in the effort and dedication necessary to achieve their goals, and who find joy and fulfillment in their work.” Yes, I can identify with that.

But then I was surprised that the chatbot cited Colossians 3:23-24 as an example of a Bible passage that speaks about “the importance of hard work and the value of being a good and faithful servant.”

I was surprised not only because I didn’t expect response to my question about a workhorse to include a Bible reference, but I was particularly surprised because I cited that Bible passage in a sermon preached in 1955, the month before I started to college.**

The AI response concluded that “the characteristics of a workhorse and the idea that God loves a happy workhorse reflect the importance of hard work and dedication in achieving one’s goals and serving others.”

When I started this blog in July 2009, just before my 71^st birthday, I didn’t set a goal of posting 1,000 times. But in March 2010 I decided to regularize the blog by posting articles of 500~700 words every five days (give or take a day at times).

I set the goal of making 1,000 posts around the time I made my 500^th post back in 2016. And I am happy to say that I have met that goal, never missing one time to post as planned.

Once again, many thanks to all of you Thinking Friends, and others, who have read most, many, or even just a few of my 1,000 blog posts. And while I will be posting irregularly and less often now, I hope you will continue to be friends who read—and perhaps respond—to my future posts.

In 1963—60 years ago!—I remember Ed Burgher (1925~2001), an older ministerial colleague, saying, “Impression without expression leads to depression.” I still think that that is a wise observation.

So, I am going to continue to blog, just not so often and not on any regular schedule. I don’t want to be depressed!

Please look forward to my next blog post. On the day after I made my 999^th post, I started writing number 1,001—but it will not be posted until after January 15. I trust you will find it worth waiting for.

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** Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

I’m fairly certain I read that passage in that 1955 sermon, although the text I used was Ecclesiastes 9:10, which admonishes, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Even though I didn’t know the words memento mori then, these are words related to that concept which I was thinking about when I was still 16.