Proverbs study: working wisely
He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully. - Proverbs 10:5
What we do now on earth impacts our eternity - including our work. In our career, in our home management, in our child rearing and in our ministry, all of this work matters.
Our time on earth is an investment. What we sow (or put our time, money or sweat into) will reap dividends for us in eternity (Galatians 6:7).
I grew up hearing a lot about Heaven, to the point where sometimes it felt like it didn’t matter what we did on earth. It was going to be “gone soon anyway”. This type of unhealthy mentality stunts our critically important growth while here on earth.
God made us stewards of His grace (1 Peter 4:10), time and money. If we sit and make no change to how we live our lives than our unbelieving neighbor, we will have quietly tucked away the greatest gift ever given. Which hinders our growth as well as disables us from being a tool used in the growth of others.
I’ll say it louder for those in the back, what we do here on earth matters. Critically.
Why we work
Why do we do what we do every day? To make money, of course.
Work means something different for each of us. Some of you may be owners of a business, manager of a team, a nurse, a parent, a teacher, a student, or a million different professions. Regardless of what you do, God asks us to glorify Him in it (1 Corinthians 10:31).
But our work stretches further than that. As Christians, we’re working for God’s kingdom. Now, some of us may be half-way doing this, or slacking completely. But if you’re a Christian, you’re also employed by God.
We very often, myself included, don’t look at it like this. We slip into living our daily lives, just getting by. Jumping from one thing to the next like we’re on a never-ending obstacle course.
Because that’s what life can feel like sometimes, right? We forget who we are as God’s son or daughter and assign ourselves our own identity and end up working for ourselves. Self-employed.
So, we start to separate out our work or day-jobs with our work as a child of God.
Now, there’s a time and place for everything. God probably isn’t wanting you to preach a sermon to your coworkers every day.
But our identity should remain the same no matter if we’re working at home or working at work - or relaxing on the beach for that matter. That means that as we seek God and His wisdom and become more like Him, those characteristics will carry into everything we do.
What keeps us from doing this? So many things. But I’ll cover one: what we desire.
What we desire
All day long he is craving, while the righteous gives and does not hold back. - Proverbs 21:26
It’s okay and good to desire good things. God created us to desire the good things around us. Our desires drive what we work towards. But when we let those good things become ultimate things for us - or things we value greater than God - they move our goal-post.
You may have really good, God-given desires. Like being a mom or dad. But we have to consider where this desire stems from. You have to ask yourself why you want to be a good parent. Is it because your identity is rooted in God and you want to follow His wisdom of being a good parent and loving your children the way He loves His?
Or maybe your desire to be a good parent has become an idol (something you treasure/love more than God). And you want to be a good parent so you feel like you’re successful in life, are a good person or you enjoy being loved or revered by others. Or, insert here anything other than out of a love for God.
The problem when we start to work or do anything that doesn’t stem from our love for God is that we tarnish it.
Because when we start out of a love for God, we are fully fulfilled by His love. So we don’t turn to other things to give us any fulfillment.
And as Proverbs 21:26 says, “all day long he is craving”. All day long, you’ll keep searching for more. You won’t be satisfied with just one promotion, you’ll need more recognition, more money and more affirmation for what you do. You’ll be constantly dissatisfied with yourself as a parent because you are aware of your imperfections and inevitable failings (as in all other humans).
Why? Because you are working for your own validation rather than seeking it fully from God first.
After all, being a child of the literal God of the universe who happens to love us more than we can even fathom should give us a child-like giddiness. It’s when we reflect on who God is and therefore who we are as His son or daughter that we don’t look to our work on earth to give us fulfillment.
