The Builder

By: Lou Holtz

I watched them tearing a building down, a group of men in a busy town. With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell, they swung a beam and a side wall fell. I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled: Would you hire these men if you were going to build?” He smiled and said, “No indeed, common labor is all I need. I can easily wreck in a day or two that which it takes builders years to do.” I thought to myself as I walked away, which of these roles have I tried to play? Am I a builder who builds with care, who measures life with a compass and a square, who follows life with a straight-laid plan, and patiently does the best he can? Or am I a wrecker who walks the town, content on tearing down?