Proverbs 10:4: Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Last week we examined Proverbs 10:22. In his blessing, God made provision for wealth for his covenant people. I concluded that we must believe and obey the covenant, if we desire to tap into God's provision for wealth. Our text reveals a portion of God's requirement in obeying the covenant. Tapping into God's provision for wealth, requires diligence. In fact it requires WORK. God expects his covenant people to work!!!
In a departure from my normal pattern for this column, I will list several passages from the Word of God. These passages show clearly that God is not exactly happy with the lazy man.
Proverbs 6:6-11: Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in the summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 19:15: Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.
Proverbs 24:30-34: I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruin. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
II Thessalonians 3:10-12: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
I Thessalonian 4:11: Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you not be dependent on anybody.
Ephesians 4:28: He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do you want to tap into God's provison for wealth? Diligence is key. Be diligent to do what you know to do, and expect God to give you further revelation of his covenant. Expect God to give you precise direction and inspiration for your life.
None of us knows every aspect of God's will for our lives. But we know that it is the will of God that we work. It is the will of God that we live, not in an slothful spirit, but with a spirit of diligence. That spirit of diligence will prompt you to do with excellence, whatever you put your hand to.
God has ordained rest. He established the Sabbath. Even under the New Covenant, the principle of the Sabbath rest is still valid, even though we don't have demands of the law.
God has provided balance in his Word. People tend to go off, one way or the other. Some don't work hard. Others work hard, and ignore the truth of God's Sabbath rest.
Work, and work with diligence. But enjoy the rest that God provides. Then your work will be more productive. It will be more fruitful.
Examine your life for areas of sloth? Are you diligent in prayer and in the study of God's Word? Do you give your employer an honest day's work, or do you rob him of what he is due?
Also, examine your life to see if you have made a priority of incorporating the reality of God's Sabbath rest into your schedule? Don't be a workaholic!
A wise man will work diligently and learn to receive God's wealth. A wise man will enter into God's Sabbath rest.
Be wise!!
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org