“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.”

― Henry Ford

What is it that drives people to do their best? The world today seems to be spinning faster and faster. We pack more activities into every day. Yet there are some people who never take short cuts, who hear the voices in their heads of parents and teachers who insisted that if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing well.

Not only is the world spinning faster, it is getting smaller. It is no longer possible to be anonymous, even when you live in a big city. You never know who is watching you, observing your actions and interactions. Thanks to facebook, more people than ever can be observers in your life. How many of us have been recognized by people we have never met who are connected to us by some remote link.

On this busy Labor Day weekend, with a full schedule of happy events, I would like to thank the people in my life who practice quality every day, insisting on doing things ‘right’. I give thanks to the parents and teachers who molded the students of Clarendon College, stressing the importance of doing quality work, of giving 110%, of doing their work with all of their heart. As we were taught “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

Some notes that my father wrote for a Friday Morning Message in 1975, after he had been hospitalized for a heart attack, speak of meeting up with CC past students or their families in the hospital. He spoke of the level of care he received, and the difference between those who demonstrated ignorance, inefficiency and laziness, and those who practiced their profession with ‘quality’.  He spoke of the training that was emphasized on the campus of CC, one that insisted on quality service. From his Christian perspective, he saw laziness as a condemnation of the teachings of Jesus, “They say, but they do not”.  Lovindeer sings of those people also, those “one day Christians.”

It may be tiring to practice quality; it may need a commitment and an energy that we don’t always feel. But you never know who is watching, who is appreciating your effort, and the rewards may come when you least expect.

Have a great weekend Family! I know I will, celebrating once more with the CC family on this Labor Day weekend. And as we appreciate the fact that we are able to celebrate, let us not forget those who have been affected by Isaac, and those who are not able to join us.

One Love, Family!