Proverbial Wisdom – 6:6-11

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson:  A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Proverbs 6:6-11 (NLT)

I could summarize this lesson with one hyphenated word—“Self-Discipline.”  Every once in a while, most people have days when they want to be lazy. I am sure you do to, so come on and admit it…you know it’s true.

Maybe once or twice a month, you have days when you want to sleep in or days when you want to laze around the pool. But for most of us, those lazy days are infrequent. After we have been lazy for a couple of days, normally we jump back into our busy work schedules.

Compare that to a lazybones. A lazy person refuses to have a work schedule—he prefers to make loafing around his full-time job. Idleness is his master.

Unlike the ant, which constantly works and gathers food for the winter, a lazybones thinks that he is overexerting himself when he plans or prepares his next meal. He lacks self-discipline and motivation.

Unless someone is around to oversee and give a lazybones a motivational kick in the rear, a lazybones will never get anything done. Poverty and scarcity will be his fate.

“Solomon, in these verses, addresses himself to the sluggard who loves his ease, lives in idleness, minds no business, sticks to nothing, brings nothing to pass, and in particular manner is careless in the business of religion” (Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible by Matthew Henry).

Unfortunately, when it comes to spiritual growth, there are many lazybones. They only want the milk, because they don’t want to expend the effort to chew on the meat. They lack the self-discipline to study and pray on their own. They do not mature in the Lord because they refuse to seek Him. Spiritual poverty and scarcity will be the fate of the spiritual sluggard.

When the storms of life come rushing in like a flood, a spiritual sluggard will be swept away and drowned. He refuses to expend the effort to reach up and take hold of God’s outstretched hand.

But you, dear reader, are not a spiritual sluggard. Similar to the ant, you have self-discipline and you motivate yourself to seek the Lord. You make the time to read His Word, and you actively listen and heed the voice of the Lord. You are quick to be about the Father’s business, serving Him and serving others. With hope, love, and faith, you plan and prepare for your eternal future. You are a good steward of your Master’s talents.

To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.  Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:29-30 (NLT)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  A lazy person will sleep his way into poverty and scarcity.

2.  The wise will observe and learn from the disciplined ant.

3.  Good stewards of the Master’s talents will be motivated to serve the Lord.

Proverbial Wisdom – 3:7-12

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Proverb 3:7-12 (KJV)

Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ—once again I am late, and this time I have no excuse. The wonderful outdoors beckoned me and I simply did not resist. I cleaned up the flowerbeds, I put out some gorgeous fall decorations, and shame on me, I let my weekly blog be late. Reds, oranges, and browns…I love the fall colors!

So let’s jump right into this week’s lesson, which will be broken down into three sections. The first section is verses 7 and 8, the second section is verses 9 and 10, and the last section is verses 11 and 12.

Our first section contains three warnings. We should not to be wise in our own eyes, we should fear the Lord, and we should turn from all evil. If we are wise in our own eyes, we hold a conceited, inflated view of ourselves, and consequently, we may not admit or learn from our mistakes. And as we have already discovered in Part 1 of our journey through Proverbs, it is a foolish, rebellious man who refuses to learn.

Paul directs us in Romans 12:16 to, “Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!” (NLT). There you go…news flash…you don’t know it all.

But don’t feel bad…I don’t know it all either. All of us have a lot more to learn; therefore, we need to stay humble and teachable.

Our reverential fear of God should help keep us humble and teachable. Throughout the Bible, we are told to fear the Lord and to obey His commands. When we fear the Lord and obey His commands, we turn away from evil—we simply want no part in it. In fact, Exodus 20:20 tells us that the fear of the Lord can keep us from sinning.

Without sin, often we can increase the length of our life and the quality of our days. We decrease our daily stress because instead of worrying, we trust and lean on God. Further, we avoid sinful activities that can lead to sickness and death; such as cirrhosis of the liver, sexually transmitted diseases, and illegal drug overdoses. As a result, many times our spiritual condition can have a profound impact on our physical condition.

Our second section tells us to honor God with the first fruits of our increase. Everything that we have, our health, our jobs, our possessions, and our money, are gifts from God. It all came from His favor within our lives, and ultimately, it all belongs to Him. We are just stewards of His money; and as such, we should not squander it on our lustful desires. Why steal from God?  “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God…” (Exodus 23:19).

When we are good stewards of God’s money in our tithes and offerings, God continues to bless us. He will meet our needs, financially, physically, and spiritually. He always deserves our first and our best of everything…not our leftovers.

“’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!’” (Malachi 3:10, NLT).

Our last section for this week, deals with discipline. We are passing through a classroom of life, and hopefully, we are learning and improving as we go along. Nevertheless, we make mistakes and sometimes we refuse to recognize or learn from our mistakes. Consequently, God may have to discipline us. Matthew Henry says in his Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, “…for we may be sure that a God of unspotted purity does us no wrong and that a God of infinite goodness means us no hurt.”

Since God is without sin, everything that He does is for our own benefit. He teaches us to avoid sin and He leads us towards His righteousness. If we refuse to learn the easy way, through listening to His Spirit and learning from His Word, He will teach us the hard way…through discipline. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

In this life, you may face discipline in the form of various trials and persecutions. While you are being disciplined, humbly surrender yourself to God. Submit to His refining fire because He is working to remove all the impurities within you—He wants to shine you up so that He can see His own reflection when He looks at you. Let God shine you up so that you can reflect Him.

And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said, “My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.”

Hebrews 12:5-6 (NLT)

Three Key Concepts:

1. Fear of the Lord can keep you from sinning.

2. Your spiritual condition can have a profound impact on your physical condition.

3. God disciplines those He loves.