DILIGENT HANDS AT WORK (2)

“The HAND of the DILIGENT will rule; but the lazy man will be put to forced labor” – Proverbs 12:24

Top Places in Life and Destiny belong to DILIGENT HANDS at WORK: “The HAND of the DILIGENT will rule; but the lazy man will be put to forced labor” (Pro. 12:24). Diligence Wins! Hard Work Works! The diligent rise to the top; the lazy end up at the bottom: “Do you see a man who excels in HIS WORK? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men” (Pro.22:29). Solomon observed this true principle of life, and God inspired him to record it for posterity. Diligence is basic to life satisfaction: “He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding… A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a MAN’S HANDS will be rendered to him” (vv.11,14).

The word “HAND” is synecdoche for the whole man; just as when ship captains say, “All hands on deck,” they expect their sailors to appear immediately. The “hand” is our obvious tool of action, effort, or labour: Diligence involves hard, intense, and persistent effort. The diligent person will bear rule, or be promoted, over the indolent and lazy. A young person who builds a reputation for great diligence, will rise to the top like cream does in milk, irrespective of the field of endeavour or the complexities in his or her area of industry. Hard work has its reward.

Diligence does not only require ability, intelligence, education, or skill; more importantly, it requires focused attention, maximum effort, and pushful persistence. Talent and training leverage diligence, but they cannot replace diligence. In a generation when many people are lazy and impatient, a diligent Believer in Christ can rise faster and farther than ever before. There are lazy and diligent men with dull axes, lazy men with sharp axes, and diligent men with sharp axes: “If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success” (Ecc.10:10). The potential winner would be the diligent man with a sharp axe!

A lazy person is a slothful person. He or she has the same name as a sluggish, sleepy mammal of Central and South America – the sloth. The lazy are losers. The slothful become scums. They dislike exertion, avoid tough assignments, are slow and listless, resent pressure, are intimidated by challenges, cannot sustain strong effort, are easily distracted, and have little drive. They end up oppressed in life; used by others as doormats. This awful result can occur in spite of ability or education. Diligence is a choice. We can ascend life’s ladder by hard work; or, be lazy, and carry the ladder for others to climb.

The King James Version of Proverbs 12:24 says, “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.” Tribute was the tax kings required of nations they defeated in battle (Jos.17:13; 1Kgs.9:21). This was paid by the losing nation in a war to the winning nation, either materially or through forced labour. It was a costly and painful financial act of submission by the loser to the winner. This also happens in the businesses of life. Lazy people will ultimately be subject to the diligent.

Human beings seem to be born with a default mechanism to laziness, being sinners by Adam, who do not want to fulfil their end of the deal made in Eden for Man “to tend and keep it” (Gen.2:15). It’s self-deception to think that taking life easy makes life easier. The lazy are blinded to the pain, poverty, and suffering that slothfulness causes: “The way of a lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway” (Pro.15:19). Diligence will bring rewards that a lazy man can only dream about. The sluggard dreams about nice things, and his desire for them torments him, but he will never have them: “The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his HANDS refuse to labour” (Pro.21:25).