If things are working out in your life, you may believe others are lazy. This is often how people who seem to have everything figured out think when they see those struggling to make ends meet. Life is funny in the sense that you cannot fully dictate how you will end up, even after putting in all the work. Not everyone who has nothing is lazy, and not everyone who has it all worked hard to get it. That is just the reality of life. However, this does not mean that you can achieve anything without being hardworking.
I once had the privilege of engaging a couple of friends in a discussion involving parents and why some find it difficult to make ends meet for their children and families at large. There is a saying that a child who complains that his parents are not rich will eventually grow up to face the same struggles his parents faced and then understand why it is not easy to succeed in life.
This is not to say that some parents do not live carelessly or fail to act diligently, which may explain why they are not wealthy. Some of these parents also faced similar struggles with their own parents while growing up, as many of them did not receive the support they should have had early in life. Some parents are truly trying and would go to any length to ensure their children do not go hungry. Some even starve themselves just so their children can eat. For a child not to recognize such sacrifices and instead look down on their parents is terrible and disgusting. I see many children of this generation with such attitudes, and it is quite sickening. I once had a discussion with a child who did not respect her parents simply because they could not provide what she considered necessities. Yet, if you look closely at the things she wanted, you would realize she was merely being influenced by peer pressure.
Although we also have parents who instruct their children, especially teenagers, to look for money at all costs without caring about the consequences or whether they may eventually be exploited. We live in such a crazy world that it has become difficult to raise a child properly. If you do not train your child well, society will eventually raise them instead, and society does not truly care.
If you think deeply about what is happening in the world today, you may become perplexed and baffled as to whether it is even worth raising a child in this world. The world is filled with so much evil, and every one of us contributes to it through our actions and inactions.
Parents have a lot to do in ensuring they do not give birth to children they cannot properly raise, especially in a world where life is already difficult enough. However, what about those children who are well cared for yet still end up becoming a nuisance? What can we say about that?
Can things ever get better? When I look around and see what is happening all over the world today, I sometimes find it difficult to believe that things will improve. Many of us are pretenders. We only support things that benefit us and do not care if our actions negatively affect others. You hear people say, “They are our thieves,” and because they benefit from them, they remain silent. But when the situation is reversed, they are the first to speak up. Are we not hypocrites?
It is only when we truly become our brothers’ keepers that life will get better for all of us. There should be mercy before judgment, but when mercy is abused, it is no longer welcome.