Industriousness | August 7
The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin.
As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who send him.
A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.
The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.
Proverbs 10:16,26; Proverbs 12:14,24; Proverbs 21:25; Proverbs 22:29
Father, Solomon, in his wisdom, made many observations about the futility of life if one focuses on “life here is all there is”. We know You want us to work and to work well, all to Your glory.
You tell us that there is a tandem truth; the fruit of our mouth, what we say, and the fruit of our labor, what we do, will be rendered (delivered) to us. We know You are a just God but oh how we lean upon Your mercy. Our imperfections are ever before us.
Keep us from becoming self-satisfied with our efforts and help us remember that every asset we have, every thing that You made that we get to use in life, is a gift. Thank You and guide us in the use of Your gifts. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project
