Life Lessons from a Pig

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Maybe that isn’t such a good title because it might lead you down the path of contemplating a totally different subject but like many of you, last week I went to the fair. I was there to work at the church’s food trailer so I really didn’t venture very far into the fairgrounds. That was okay because from the trailer I could see what makes this time of year so special for many of our young people. We were located next to the coliseum so the 4-H kids were bringing their animals in and out of the show ring the entire time I was there.

It brought back memories of my days of showing pigs at my county fair. I remembered back to my first 4-H project: a pig. We raised hogs on our farm so I was comfortable around them and knew it would be a good project for me. I named him Mr. Ham, probably my first mistake. Never name something that is headed to the freezer! I worked daily with him to be able to show him off to his best advantage. I fed him and learned to keep records on how much feed he ate and what it was costing me. I learned a lot from hanging out with that pig and cried my eyes out when I sold him.

Last week I saw many kids going through the same process. There were cheers and tears as the winners were announced and the others felt that sting of disappointment. At the fair is one of the few places where kids learn that there are winners and that there are losers. Too many junior sports teams have phased out the competitiveness so that each child receives a trophy no matter how much they contributed, all or none. Too much of life still holds that competiveness but that’s a subject for another day.

You see two kinds of kids at the fair. There are those who come and enjoy the rides and hang out with friends and enjoy the waning days of summer and you have the others: those who are in 4-H or FFA who have come to compete. Through their projects, they are learning responsibility and what it means to win humbly and lose graciously. They learn a work ethic that is taught few other places in our society today.

I was especially impressed with those in the poultry field this year. Due to the threat of spreading avian flu, they were not allowed to bring any live projects to the fair. The alternative turned out to be what one article declared was more like a science fair. Even in those projects, the kids learned about their field—and there were winners and losers. Who knows if the research required for those projects won’t kick off a spark that leads to a great career and possibly a cure for things like avian flu.

Whether it is a livestock project, sewing, cooking, photography, or any of a number of new fields that continue to be added, the lessons are the same.

Those who go through 4-H and FFA programs are taught the values and attitudes that are needed for success in today’s world. The values they are learning have been the values parents have—or should have—instilled in their kids for centuries. We are only responsible parents when we raise responsible kids.

Scripture is very clear on this. In Proverbs, we read this warning: Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it (Proverbs 22:6, CEB). The way we steer our children from the beginning will have the most impact on the kind of adults they will become. Nothing frustrates me more than to see a parent lament about the horrible attitude or mouth of their teenager. Did you teach them—did you even listen to them—when they were young? Did you spend time with them and teach them good manners? Or was it your temper tantrums that taught them how to “handle” situations? Was it you questioning the family tree of the ref or project judge or teacher that taught them how to deal with disappointment? We can’t expect our children to be good citizens of the world if all they see are bad examples.

If you are looking for a way to teach your children to become adults who will contribute to the world in a positive way, then I suggest you begin now to plan what project might be good for them for next year. There are lessons to be learned from a pig or cow or sheep or sewing or cooking or ___________. You fill in the blank. The future is wide open.