Diligence

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Diligence is a lost word in most vocabularies. In this lazy, automated society, it is rare to find anyone diligent about anything anymore. Most doctors could not practice without a computer, God help the cashier who must figure your change, the mechanic who must diagnose your car without electronics. I remember the time when you memorized facts and figures, places and things, even verses of God's precious, holy Word.

How quickly this lackadaisical, prideful smattering of humanity has forgotten the hard-earned qualities and quantities of life. Only 17% of the world's population has electric power and running water. I have been in countries where there was no electric power in the best hotels. The wealthier the people, the more ungrateful, the more spent on education, the more ignorance displayed. There is so much crime in America that the small crimes go unpunished and unnoticed.

One man stole one of my passwords and used it to list 5 cars for sale on my online account. When I reported this to the police, sending them all the paperwork necessary, the police department said, “do you know his phone number?” I said, “yes, this is his name, address and phone number.” The officer said, “we will call him and warn him not to do it anymore.”

A university student ordered sexually explicit material and charged it to my credit card although the material was shipped to his home. Law enforcement told me that nothing would be done because he did not have a record. The superintendent of schools of the state of Virginia (Dr. Ira Trollenger) rented a beach house from me and stole much of my furniture. After two lawyers, insurance and police, pictures and records of everything, nothing was done.

A pharmacist rented a furnished house from me, and at the end of the lease, without notifying me of anything, including painting the interior house, he moved out, taking many non-expendables with him (bedspreads, blankets, towels, glasses, wastebaskets, chairs, shower curtains, curtain rods, area rug, etc.). Nothing has yet been done to him, or the responsible realtor who was paid well to manage the property.

Is it plausible, feasible, practical that any furnished rental, motel, hotel, can survive very long with tenants taking whatever they want, redecorating without permission, moving in or out without permission? Does it make sense, do we exercise due diligence, when credit companies, traffic camera companies, can no longer go into the court because it is not practical for the court to spend time prosecuting people who have no integrity, character, or diligence left?

Commitment involves common sense and diligence to God, family, and country. Comparing a tree and a post is a matter of growth and diligence, both are in the ground; the tree has roots of decency, honesty, faithfulness. As is shown in the scripture, you can nail a sign on the post regarding this character, but it is only deep-rooted soul, the spirit which will cause growth. If you do not exercise diligence in nurturing the roots of this tree, like the post the tree will just become dead wood.

In the nation's capital we appoint the people who ruin things, to correct things. Has it occurred to anyone that only through true diligence, true character, true concern, will anything be corrected? We have all heard these epigrams: boys will be boys, little strokes fell great oaks, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Did God, in his Commandments, expect us to offer excuses? These were commandments, not suggestions, contracts were not made to be broken. Leases were not signed to be defiled. I get so tired of lawyers saying, “that is just the cost of doing business.” If you excuse big sins, what happens to the small ones? If you do not trust all of God's Word, why trust any of it?

Teen suicide accounts for most teenager's deaths, most feel that they are in a deep hole and there is no ladder of escape. It takes much encouragement to live in this world, encouragement for young parents, encouragement for the elderly, encouragement for those trying to make something of their lives. I can honestly say without fear of contradiction, that I never received one word of encouragement in my youth, during my many years of college, military, and professional service, and certainly no encouragement during my years as a totally blind citizen. There have been acts of encouragement, but everyone needs words of encouragement. I believe God was talking about this in this Law of Moses, instructing the Jewish nation, it is with diligence that we will succeed as individuals, as families, as a nation. It is time to encourage with diligence, with concern.

If you want to see diligence, go to Burma, as I have done, and see entire families sitting on the ground, working with silk thread on one carpet, which it takes months to finish. They know this is their only opportunity in life, diligence for survival.