Have we earned the right?

I remember visiting a Middle Eastern country some years ago and being taken to see the palace of a Sheikh. From the outside, the massive palace seemed to lack nothing. There were fleets of vehicles, all brand new cars in a massive garage. It seemed the Sheikh and the Sheikha had everything they possibly could need. Their children had access to all that wealth; in short, they didn’t have to earn anything. They were entitled to their parents’ fortune that ensured they and their children and perhaps children’s children could live comfortably for a long long time.

As astounding as their existence seemed to outsiders, it also seemed sad that the children seemed to have everything they needed at the drop of a hat, so to speak. They did not have to earn anything. They would never know the joy of saving up for their first car. The thrill of being bought a much cherished gift because they strived to get good grades and got them. When you have everything, you lose one thing, a very important thing. You lose the beauty of earning the right - even the right to be wrong.

They say respect must be earned not demanded. They are right. Earning respect, earning the right to make your opinion heard, earning the right to stand your ground, earning a favour or even earning the opportunity teaches the best of lessons add beauty to life.

It matures us as individuals, teaches us profound lessons in life and enables us to take nothing for granted. It also earns us the fellowship of our fellow human beings and makes the world a better place to live in. Experience is the best teacher and some of the lessons we learn in life we would never learn in a classroom.

British Royal family

Sometimes being given everything, literally everything on a plate tends to make you dull. There is no thrill in earning anything at all. The Royals could easily sit back and get paid for being mere Royals but they work had at earning their upkeep. The British Royal family makes it a point to have their children brought up in the strict fashion of a no-nonsense upbringing. The British princes Harry and William have had to earn their positions and have had to work hard for it.

Prince Harry on military duty in Afghanistan

It is easy and understandable to give our children more comforts and more opportunities than we had. But it is best to teach them the value of earning - not just monetary aspects of it but also that of giving and receiving. It moulds their character and enables them to blossom out into responsible citizens. The sooner they learn that there is nothing called a free lunch, the more their outlook in life becomes broader and better.

It is the same for adults .When we earn the right, it adds a new dimension to our lives. Knowing that you have earned it brings a new sense of rejuvenation to you. You appreciate what you have worked hard to earn - you may not really feel the same way about gifts you have received even though you may cherish the gifts.

The smallest amount of money is that much more significant when you have toiled hard for it. A fortune may not mean the same thing, even if given free. The same attitude applies to what we give our children. Their pocket money they may have earned doing a household chore is more valuable to them and teaches them the value of earning rather than being given money as a gift by the parents.

Value of hard work

Even though most of the Western world today has welfare and social security benefits, those countries were built by men and women whose values of hard work and diligence went into the creation of highly developed economies. They were committed to ensuring a hard day’s work and wages that matched it.

Earning as a value should be taught early to a child. He or she would benefit from knowing and appreciating the value of hard work, commitment, keeping your word and earning your right. In today’s self-centred culture, it is so easy to be focused on instant self-gratification instead of earning the right to it. Too many children today do not know the value of earning anything at all.

We earn our way through life. The more we learn to appreciate it and abide by its code, the richer our lives can be.