I've watched a few wrecking machines tear down a couple of buildings here on campus. What had taken months to build, took hours to tear down.

Criticizing doesn't take a lot of time or skill. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you are smart because you can point out everyone's errors. I frequently find myself doing that and it always leads to hurt feelings.

- - - -

I watched them tearing a building down,

A gang of men in a busy town.

With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell,

They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.

I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled,

As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”

He gave me a laugh and said, “No indeed!

Just common labor is all I need.

I can easily wreck in a day or two

What builders have taken a year to do.”

And I tho’t to myself as I went my way,

Which of these two roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care,

Measuring life by the rule and square?

Am I shaping my deeds by a well-made plan,

Patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,

Content with the labor of tearing down?

- - -

Finding fault in everyone and everything is not a sign of intelligence. It takes careful skill to build something that lasts. It takes patience, vision, and attention to create beauty. Pay the price, be a builder.