So, as announced last week, here is my 1,000th 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.
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| 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 85th 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 71st 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 500th 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 999th 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.
_____
** 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.
