Take Care of Things
It only looks like business advice but it’s so much more
===
The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever takes care of his master will be honored.
Proverbs 27:18 (NET)
===
The prophet Amos was a fig farmer.
So, in order to help a fig ripen along so that it’s edible, there’s a lot of manual labor involved.
The way I heard it, fig farmers have two different methods they choose to tend to figs:
1. Making tiny slices in the fruit so it softens up
2. Pinching & bruising the fruit so it softens up
This is intimate work, full of details, and takes time & concentration.
I think it’s a pretty good picture for how important it is to focus on the details and spend the right amount of time tending to our business.
That’s all well and good for the entrepreneur, but what about the employees?
Well, taking care of your master would be somewhat similar to an employee taking care of their employer.
All right, that’s the business advice, but what about some broader advice?
One quote I like to use is “how you do anything is how you do everything.” Meaning you can watch someone doing some sort of task, or interacting with someone (especially someone of lower status than them, such as a waiter) and know how they handle most everything in life.
So, if I want to be a person known for taking care of things, then I must do it with every little detail.
And, yes, this plays out in my ministry and walk with Jesus.
How I tend my business is how I tend my disciplines is how I tend my relationships is how I tend to my Lord.
It’s all connected.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
