Labor Saving Devices

One day, it so passed that our Mennonite Meeting House had a week of meetings that some call Revival Meetings.  These have received their name because of their reviving spiritual effects, for the meetings were Physically Taxing for those who endured until the end.

One evening, on returning to our home from one of these meetings, my wife noticed that the Youngest Damsel in our household was already enfolded in the arms of sleep.  So, Elaine put this damsel into bed with her clothes on.  It came to pass that Elise slept all night until the dawn and a little thereafter.

It so chanced that what with one thing and another, Elise wore the same clothes until evening when her sister, Victoria, exclaimed, "Mom, Leesy is wearing the same clothes as yesterday!"

It was true.

When I was a Wee Lad, still sleeping in the House of my Father, I had the notion that there would be much less laundry if only I would be allowed to wear my clothes two days in a row.  I am not sure why I was concerned about this, because my mother washed the clothes, but it seemed reasonable to wear them inside out one day and the following day to wear them right side out.

Hey Presto!  Suddenly half the laundry would be generated with no effort at all.

Somehow this Whiz-Banger of an idea has never caught on.  Perhaps the issue is that its inventor isn't famous enough.  Certainly it has never been tried on a global scale.  As I ponder the subject, part of the issue is that many types of apparel that come with buttons and zippers pre-installed, are difficult to put on inside out, but of course, living in the 21st Century, that should be easy enough to deal with.

Mayhap the number one reason for New Inventions is simply laziness.  The desire to do the same things with less effort is very motivating for humans.

Proverbs 13:4 tells us "The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."  Idleness leads to emptiness, while diligence leads to fulfillment.

The goal of human endeavor should not simply be to avoid work at all costs, nor should it be an aim for Maximal Rest.  A little labor is good for the soul and weary heads rest easier on their pillows.  I have become convinced that if folks invested the same effort in finishing their work that they use to get out of work, they might rest from their labors knowing that they were done.

The number of Labor Saving Devices grows larger by the week.  Perhaps the time will come when the Multitudes will need a special edifice simply to story their Gizmos of Laziness.

There is a cost for each one of these inventions and though they might prove useful, the Bigger Deal is to get the work done.  

For laundry must be done, even for those who wear their clothes multiple days in a row.  For while they may save time on laundry, they might lose friends through Increased Stinkiness.