The Three Little Pigs for 2013

The other day my wife read my daughter the story of “The Three Little Pigs.”  Upon listening to this tale, I soon realized that this was no long suitable for our modern mentality, so I have taken the liberty of updating this classic to better fit our times.  Here is my version of “The Three Little Pigs” for 2013:

 

Once upon a time there were three little pigs, all of which needed to build houses to protect themselves from the Big Bad Wolf.  The first pig decided to build his house out of straw, the second out of sticks, and the third out of bricks.  The first pig finished his house without much work (for building a house out of straw was hardly any work at all) and soon found himself with his feet up watching television.  The second pig saw this, and quickly realized that this thought of building a house out of sticks wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  He quickly dropped the sticks, got some extra straw from the first pig, and after building his house out of straw also turned on the television.  The third pig was still convinced that bricks were the way to go, but he was told that if we had a house like that it would make the other pigs feel bad about themselves.  Orders came down from on high that in an effort to keep everyone on an even playing field all houses must be built of straw.  The third pig reluctantly agreed, and soon all three pigs had houses of straw and were watching television.  Someone gave all three pigs a gold star and told them they would be great pigs someday.  Everyone felt very good about themselves.

Until the Big Bad Wolf ate them.

The End

 

Author’s Note: As a society over the last hundred years or so, we have decided to separate the ideas of work ethic and self-esteem.  There was a time when work ethic was prized and self-esteem was greatly reduced.  This is bad.  In response to this, our culture has emphasized self-esteem to the detriment of work ethic.

Work ethic and self-esteem are not meant to be separated, but rather to be connected in a way that properly balances both.  God wants us to work hard in order to earn the things that we need (2 Thess 3:10).  He also wants us to establish our sense of self-esteem not in the things we do but in the fact that we are created in His image (Gen 1:27).  Having a good work ethic leads to good self-esteem, just as long as we keep both balanced.  When we balance those things, we can live a healthy, spiritually focused, purpose filled life.  However, if we get one out of balance, or if we base one entirely on the other, things in our own lives and in society fall apart.  Students (and adults), remember that your hard work does not pay off now, but it is the only road to real success.  Also remember that sometimes when we work hard we fail, but God loves us and has a purpose for us in spite of all the times when we feel less than worthy.