The Word 10/24

HANDS THAT PRODUCE POVERTY VS HANDS THAT PRODUCE PROSPERITY. 

The book of Proverbs will COMPARE and CONTRAST numerous relevant issues and some get very personal. For example, Proverbs will contrast the wise and the foolish. Proverbs will contrast the righteous and the wicked.  Proverbs will contrast the rich and the poor.  Proverbs will contrast the diligent and the lazy.  

In Proverbs 10:4 we get what we might call a two for one.  There is a contrast between the richand the poor, and the lazy (slack hand) and the diligent.  

The verse highlights the word hand for it speaks of one’s work.  Our hands are our tools for action.  Here we see a person’s hands described as SLACK or idle with the idea of idle on purpose.  In other words, this person is LAZY and does not want to work.  They are a SLACKER.  The definition of a slacker is a person who avoids work or effort.  The hardest work the slacker will do all day is thinking of ways to get out of work.  While there is no excuse for being lazy the lazy slacker works diligently to come up with every excuse possible to not work!  In Proverbs 26:13 the lazy person calls in and says “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”  The reason they can’t get to work is because of a unique attachment disorder. Proverbs 26:14 tells of this slacker is attached to his bed; “As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed.” 

Proverbs says when a person’s hands are slack they become POOR or living in POVERTY.  This is more than not having money.  It speaks of having a life that lacks value.  One does not have things to look back on or things to look forward to.  A poor person can have a RICH life but here we see a person who has made decisions that bring about a poor life!

On the other hand, you have the hand of the diligent who does what must be done and does it will excellence. They roll out of bed and roll up their sleeves and pursue their God-given dreams.  Their work produces more than money as it produces achievement and accomplishment that gives opportunities to be a blessing to others. A rich person can have a POOR life but here we see a person who will experience a RICH LIFE.  Yes, the diligent experience of life is vastly different than the lazy slacker! 

Are you approaching today with excitement and enthusiasm and energy with a desire to give your best effort and strive for excellence to make something happen with your life, for God, and for others?
Or will you look to do as little as possible, keeping your hands as idle as possible?

Will the actions of your hands have you known as “the Lazy slacker” with a life of poverty or “the Diligent” experiencing a rich life?

Verse to DATE the Word on October 4 (10/4) is Proverbs 10:4. It says, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. “

Continue Strong with a STRONG WORK ETHIC!
And remember to DATE THE WORD!

“He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. ”