Proverbs 14:23-24
Part
of what made America great was the value placed on hard work. Right or wrong
theologically, hard work has paid off for generations of our ancestors. Even
today, hard work is a good thing.
We
have a young man aged 13 who cuts the grass at our house. He makes about $100 a
month for what he does. So subtract gas and wear and tear on his equipment, he
makes about $10 an hour. Not bad for a 13 year old. And he is happy to get the
money. And I am happy to pay him! Talking with his parents, they are instilling
in him two important values: the value of work and the value of money. This
young man could teach lots of people a lesson. He is learning self-respect,
responsibility, and a whole host of other things at the same time.
In
contrast to this young man I hear of so many who just want to sit on their
hands and do nothing, and of course get paid for it. They want to talk big
things, but when it comes to putting their legs into motion, that is a
different story.
It
sounds like us, sometimes, in our Christian walk. We talk about prayer, but do
we really pray? We talk about caring for the poor, but do we? We talk about the
value of Scripture in our lives, but do we honor it by reading and studying it?
Mere talk gets us nowhere. Action is what counts.
The
old saying, “Put up or shut up” comes to mind. Either live the Christian life
or don’t. Don’t talk about it and then live some other way. That is folly. And the
more folly, the more folly. Folly breads folly.
I
am always wary of someone who does too much talking about what they are doing.
Let the actions speak for themselves. I think that is why I could never be a
politician. Part of their job is to talk about what they are doing, even if
they aren’t doing it. We recognize that politicians are full of hot air, don’t
we? How hot is our air?
Wealth
is measure more in who we are than what we own. Character counts more than
collateral, integrity more than investments, eternity more than equity. Wisdom
always makes a profit. Whatever we do, we need to do it as unto the LORD, and
not to me. Hard work unto the LORD is profitable, even if our paycheck doesn’t
reflect the effort expended.