Life advice from a shoe
Diligent Work
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He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand,
but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.
He who gathers in summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.
Proverbs 10:4-5 (WEB)
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Two verses, essentially saying the same thing:
Diligent work leads to wealth and respect.
As a reminder, these are principles and not absolute promises.
Of course there can be exceptions, but the nature of wisdom like this is in the rule of thumb.
Which I think we can all understand pretty well. These verses are simple enough.
The challenge is in executing.
(I’m preaching more to myself today than I am to you reading this.)
This reminds me of the cliche on eating an elephant. Diligent work is that day in and day out work. You have a job to do and you just show up and do it.
People respect consistency.
Plus, we can see that money tends to flow away from lazy fools and into the pockets of wise workers.
Also notice that there’s a time and place for these things.
Sleep is a necessary part of life, but if you’re caught napping during the time for harvest, then you’re going to miss out on the revenue.
Once that crop goes bad, you can’t save it. Instead, the lazy worker would have to wait a whole new year to see a harvest -- assuming he spends time plowing the field and planting the seed and watering the crop and everything else that goes into farming.
Unlikely.
So, what’s on your agenda today that requires a little diligent work?
Take Nike’s advice:
Just do it.
— Ricky Ketchum
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