ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK – SLOTHFULNESS OR DILIGENCE? (Part 1).
Proverbs 12:24 reads:
“The hand of he diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute”
Work is an integral part of life. According to Genesis 2 verses 8 and 15, God placed man in a garden called Eden after creation, and he tasked man to dress and keep the garden. Based on this assignment, man received the responsibility of maintaining what God assigned to him. The proper maintenance of our God-given environments guarantees the sustenance of the benefits therein. It is worth noting that all work is targeted at building and sustaining things to provide benefits to men. This is the mandate to which all men are called in respect of work.
The attitude demonstrated by men towards work goes a long way to determine the outcome of their lives or how fruitful they can be. It’s important to note that prayer will not achieve for man what his work must achieve. Men must, therefore, give prayer its rightful place in their lives and equally accord work its rightful place. None can replace the other. In relation to work, scripture mentions two possible attitudes men can demonstrate. These are slothfulness or diligence.
Slothfulness refers to the lazy posture that expects that God will provide men all the goodies of life, even when men fail to execute their God-given tasks or responsibilities. Slothfulness prioritizes rest ahead of work and sleep ahead of activity. It’s worth noting that there are things that God will do for man, and there are other things that men ought to do for themselves. God will open doors and offer opportunities for service. It is man’s responsibility to leverage on God-given opportunities to produce the expected results.
On the other hand, diligence refers to hard work. The diligent are not intimidated by tasks. Rather, they demonstrate commitment to work. Regardless of how enormous their tasks may be, they break them down into manageable packages and approach them in a focused and consistent manner until the entire work is executed. The diligent spirit does not give up until every aspect of the task at stake is handled.
Today’s passage indicates the end of the two attitudes towards work. The diligent end up as rulers whilst the slothful end up subservient to others. It is time to review our attitudes towards work. Is the attitude we are demonstrating good enough to provide the success we desire? Beloved, may slothfulness be banished from our lives, and may diligence be given its rightful place in all we do in life.
SHALOM 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏