Diligence vs. Neglect

Proverbs 10:4
Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.(NIV)

What makes a man or woman poor? Some would say that if you are born into poverty you are destined to remain in poverty. However, there are many cases where people who were born into poverty worked hard and rose out of their original impoverished state. For example, David was born into a family of shepherds but rose to become king of all of Israel. Abraham Lincoln grew up living in a lean-to with his father yet he became president of the United States. Babe Ruth was raised in an orphanage and grew up to become one of the most famous baseball players of all time. 


Dave Thomas was adopted at six weeks old and raised by his adoptive father because his adoptive mother died while he was still a young age. He grew up to become the founder of the Wendy’s hamburger restaurant chain. Perhaps one of the most well-known women who rose from extreme poverty to riches is Oprah Winfrey. She was born in 1954 to a single mother. She was sent away to be raised by her grandmother. In 1986 during one of her talk shows she stated that she was molested by her cousin, her uncle and a family friend starting at the age of 9. As of June 17, 2010 her net worth was estimated at $2.4 billion dollars.

Proverbs 10:5
He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. (NIV)

Sleeping during the harvest was considered disgraceful because, that is when all of the hard work of farming comes to its final fruition. It is disgraceful to sleep then because, not only are you not helping to gather this harvest to provide food for your mother and father, you are also allowing some of their primary source of their income to rot in the field while you sleep.

Proverbs 12:24
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.(NIV)

I have seen this principle lived out in industry many times. Many people arrive at work every day. Very few of these people come with the mindset that their job is to actually do the work that is assigned to them. Those few who actually do come with this mindset are quickly recognized and promoted because of their personal work ethics. The others have to be threatened with loss of pay and/or unemployment in order to coerce them into actually doing the work. Most of the time the work that they finally do is not the best that they are capable of doing.

Proverbs 12:27
The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions. (NIV)

I have seen a good modern day example of this first principle. Many people eat meals at restaurants more often than they can afford to. They don’t want to cook because that is work so, rather than purchase similar food that can be prepared at home at a fourth or a third the cost they eat out. The diligent man on the other hand works hard to save his money so that he can buy the things that he needs like a home and a family car. By doing this he is not only helping himself and his wife by staying out of debt but he is also providing a good example for his children to follow so that they will not be financially enslaved to their creditors.

Proverbs 13:4
The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.(NIV)

The sluggard craves and gets nothing. Sometimes he does get some food given to him out of charity but this does not satisfy him because he has not learned to work for it. After his food is digested he will be right back at his original state of craving for food. This is why many who are on welfare appear to be unhappy and discontented. While the diligent who have worked hard for what they have on the other hand appear to be happy and content and as this verses states “fully satisfied”.

Proverbs 21:5
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.(NIV)

A good example of applying this principle is creating and staying on a realistic budget versus completely ignoring the harsh financial realities of life. I believe Ben Franklin said "If you fail to prepare then you are preparing to fail". The hasty in this verse see things that others have and they want them too. The hasty think that they need these things right now regardless of the cost. The diligent take the time plan and to look to the future based on their past experience and the past experience of others. They realize that life is full of normal emergencies that come up so they set aside money for these rainy day events. The hasty who have failed to plan always seem shocked when an unforeseen financial expense arises.

Even though this happens time and time again they fail to learn from the wisdom of this verse. They are often guilty of impulsive spending. Whether they do this spending via a credit card or whether they pay cash each time, the end result is still the same. At the end of the month they find themselves in a position where they are long on debt and short on cash. They even find themselves in a position where they do not have enough money to pay for the things that are truly necessities (like food for themselves and their children or rent or their electric bill).

You may not know this, but the majority of the calls that come in to the church are not for spiritual needs, but rather help with bills or food. In 20 years at this church, not one person has asked to work for money or food. The Bible clearly states that he who does not owrk does not eat.

Proverbs 6:10-11
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. (NIV)

Proverbs 6:10-11
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man.(NASB)

Proverbs 24:33-34
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. (NIV)(or like a vagrant and scarcity like a beggar.)

Webster’s definition of a vagrant is someone that wanders around with no means of support.

Webster’s definition of a vagabond is someone that moves from place to place without a fixed home. This is today’s definition of “The homeless”.

Proverbs 24:33-34
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, then your poverty will come as a robber and your want like an armed man. (NASB)

Usually when a parent repeats something twice to their child it is something important for the child to remember. Usually when God repeats something twice it is important for His children to remember. These two verses seem to be repeating the same thought. I often think of these verses when I am lying in bed contemplating sleeping in. It is the warning of these verses that help me overcome my natural tendency to be lazy. The Bible says that you will never see a righteous man begging for bread.

Here’s a few more thoughts on diligence

Joshua 23:11
So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. (NASB)

It is difficult to love someone that you don’t know or trust. In order to get to know Jesus you must read His Word and truly believe that He loves you and that His Father loves you. In John 14:21-24, Jesus says “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

Remember the Joshua 23:11 instruction and the seven instructions in the Proverbs that we just reviewed concerning diligence are His Word. If we obey God’s instructions to be diligent then, we love Him. If we don’t then, we can’t truthfully say that we love Him. Jesus makes it so clear that even a child can understand it.

Luke 16:10-12
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? "

If we are working we should not just be arriving at work, we should be working at work. We must be diligent especially as Christians in this area.

2 Corinthians 8:22
We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. (NASB)

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Handling accurately the word of truth is more than just knowing what God says to do. It is actually doing what God says to do.

Psalm 111:10
The reverence for of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. (NASB)

God gives you wisdom as you obey. The more you obey the more you will understand His ways.

2 Timothy 4:15-16
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (NIV)

Realize brothers and sisters, that you are role models. If you are diligent then you will be a good role model. But if you fall into laziness you won't be a good role model. The unsaved may look at your laziness as an excuse not to become a Christian. They may say that they don't want to be like that if that is what a Christian is.

Each one of us should periodically ask ourselves the question “Is my progress evident to all.”. If not then we should ask ourselves this question: “Am I making the progress that the Lord Jesus desires of me?” If not then, we need to ask ourselves this question: “What course corrections do I need to make in order to make the progress that the Lord Jesus desires of me?” And then we should ask Jesus for the power to make the course corrections we need to make.

One last thought on neglect for all of us.

1 Timothy 4:13-14
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. (NIV)

God’s word is a gift. We need to do more than just read it and listen to it. We need to memorize it, internalize it in our hearts, preach it to others in our sphere of influence, and teach it to our children.

Summary

1.A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and Your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man.

2.Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

3.He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

4.Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.(i.e., being in bondage to debt.)

5.The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions.

6.The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

7.The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

8.So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God.