Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”
Our Bible verse for today: “I saw, and took it to heart; I looked, and received instruction: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.” Proverbs 24:32-34 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God expects us to have a good work ethic.”
I will be forever grateful to my father for the good example he set for me with respect to the value and reward of hard work. My Dad was a high school dropout who was raised in poverty in one of the roughest neighborhoods on Staten Island, NY. But he was determined that his children would have it better than he did. So even though the best job he could get was as a low wage laborer in a factory, he purchased a nice home for us in a “Leave it to Beaver” neighborhood in suburban New Jersey. Then he worked two jobs for more than twenty years to pay for it. He would work all day in the factory, come home, shower and eat, and then go to his nighttime job of stocking shelves in a grocery store.
I too ended up being a high school dropout. But when I left home for the U.S. Navy at the age of only 17, I took with me the example of a good work ethic set for me by my father. I quickly discovered that because of my lack of education almost everyone else was smarter than me, but I also discovered that I could outwork them – and that made all the difference. So I determined that I would work longer, harder, and better than everyone else around me. That then earned the approval and favor of my bosses, along with increased opportunity. They liked my work ethic and they appreciated my good attitude, so they went out of their way to create opportunities for me.
Long story short, I ended up advancing up the enlisted ranks and then earning a commission as an officer. By the time I retired after twenty years I was a Lieutenant Commander (the equivalent of a Major), and eventually I went from having no high school diploma to having four college degrees. I’m not bragging I’m just illustrating what a good work ethic can do for a person. I also want to point out that God calls for and blesses a good work ethic from His people.
That’s what Solomon was writing about in Proverbs 24:32-34, and if you’ve followed along in the Psalms then you know this is not the first time he has raised the issue either. Laziness, poor performance, and shirking responsibility are affronts to God. He expects and demands better from us. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord – you serve the Lord Jesus Christ.”
That’s the lesson – “Whatever” you do, do it enthusiastically and do it well. Do it as if you are doing it directly for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself because in truth, you are.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 