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BEARING THE YOKE "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." (Lam. 3:27) It has been a long time since a generation of Americans had to truly bear a yoke and endure hardship. We hear of individual cases of such, where someone endures poverty, abuse, a handicap, discrimination, or maybe just a broken home, and then rises out of unfortunate circumstances to achieve greatness, but we have not seen a GENERATION endure hardship since the 1930's and 1940's. Well, if it's GOOD for a man to bear the yoke in his youth, then it must be BAD for him to not do so. Any good military man will tell you that a true soldier is molded and made out of hardship. That's why basic training is so tough: to make tough men. But we now have millions of grown men in America who have never had to endure any real hardship. Consequently, the average man today is nothing more than an overgrown boy who spends his time pursuing pleasures. His grandfather hunted because he had to; he hunts because he wants to. His grandfather drove a truck because it was needful; he drives one because that's what men are expected to do, it's kinda cool, and he can spread the monthly payments out over six years. His grandfather had enough character to stay married to the same woman for sixty years and raise six children; he doesn't have enough character to hang on to the same woman for even ten years with only two children. and he'll never be a real man until he gets up close and personal with some real hardship.