Determining Worth

I've always liked those short, pithy sayings that actually contain more wisdom than words (a short commodity these days). They usually have roots that go back to earlier generations and, like Proverbs in the Bible, are based on common life experiences. We've all heard them... we've probably used some form of them... and we probably have our favorites.

When I was a kid and wanted to have or do something my parents weren't going to let me have or do, I would sometimes complain. At those times my mom would often use one of those sayings her mom had used on her:

"It ain't what you want that makes you fat... it's what you get."

As I kid I really had no idea what that meant, beyond understanding that I indeed wasn't going to get to have or do what I wanted. It wasn't until later that I was able to put those words into the proverb classification. Since then, I've used those words myself... and usually gotten the same blank stare I used to give my mom.

Well, there are sayings that are easier to understand, and sometimes they grow into several versions. For example:

Nothing worth doing comes easily.

Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well... or right... or overdoing.

Nothing worth having comes easy, save your breath.

Anything worth saying deserves some thought first.

Perhaps the version of this saying that has impressed me the most is this one:

"Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope." -- Reinhold Niebuhr