Brief: God has created the world in such a
way that if we work hard in any area of life, we will be rewarded.
Scripture: Genesis 2:15; Proverbs 10:4; 12:11; 22:13;
24:30-34; 26:15
Read Proverbs 10:4.
What is diligence?
Diligence is
working hard, to keep trying to attain your goals, to “give it all you’ve got,”
to have endurance.
Read Genesis 2:15.
Why is the message to be diligent in the Bible? Does God
really care if we work hard or not?
God made
mankind to work. He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden to take care of it. He
has made us and our world in such a way that if we want something, we generally
have to work for it. Grades, skills, finances, relationships, spirituality.
Everything takes work.
Read Proverbs 12:11.
Solomon is contrasting farming, working the land, with chasing fantasies.
Why is “working the land” so much better than “chasing fantasies”?
Working the land
is solid. The land is there. You know that if you do
things right, there will be a crop. Whereas nothing is a sure thing,
it is as close to a guarantee that we have.
How does this verse apply to us if we don’t “work the land”?
If we work hard in
school, we know that we’ll get good grades. If we work hard at
sports or playing an instrument, we know that we’ll get good at it. If we go to
work for a company and perform our job duties, they will pay us. If we work
hard at our relationships with our spouses, we will have good marriages.
What are some of the fantasies that we could chase?
Chasing fantasies
might be something like dropping out of school to start your own
business. Or thinking that instead of going to work, you can just
play the lottery or invest in the stock market. Or get-rich-quick schemes.
“Work 2 hours a day! From home! And earn $5,000 a week!”
Read Proverbs 22:13.
What is the “sluggard” doing in this verse?
Making excuses. He
doesn’t want to go outside and go to work, so he’s making up excuses not to.
How do we do the same thing?
We might say that something is too
hard. We can’t work in school or at a certain subject because we’re not good at
that kind of stuff. Other times, we say we shouldn’t work that hard at our jobs
because no one notices anyway. Maybe we say we shouldn’t work hard at being a
Christian because we keep messing up anyway.
God’s promise says
that if we work at something and continue to work at something, being diligent,
we will be rewarded. Things will improve.
Read
Proverbs
24:30-34.
According to this passage, what is one way people become poor?
By being lazy.
Because the sluggard in this passage hasn’t been “working the land,” he’s
poor. It’s the same thing with us. If we’re not working at something, if we’re
not diligent in some area of our lives, that part of our life is going to be in
poor conditions. If we’re not actively working on our spiritual life, it’s
going to fall into ruin. If we had a skill and then, we stop using that skill
for a while, we’ll lose it. We need to work at things to keep from becoming
“poor” in that area.
Read Proverbs 26:15.
Why do you think this verse says that the “sluggard” already has his hand
in the dish? What does it mean when it says that he won’t bring the
food back to his mouth?
Work or some way
to make money is available to most people. They have their hand in the
dish. All they have to do is take advantage of the opportunities
that are around them. All they have to do is bring the food to their
mouth. Another example is that a good education is
available to you. All you have to do is take advantage of it. Spiritually,
God’s Word is there for you. All you have to do is invest some time in it.
Bring your hand back to your mouth.
Be diligent, and you will be rewarded.
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