Proverbs_14
Scripture
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Observation - What does it say?
The son of King David, King Solomon, continues to share the wisdom God has given him. And he points to the results of both hard work and mere talk. One will always bring profit and the other poverty.
Understanding - What does it mean?
In 6th grade I got in one of the only physical fights I’ve ever been in. I was making fun of a kid on the bus who was in 8th grade. We got off the bus and a crowd gathered around expecting a fight. It wasn’t my intention to get into a fight. I was small for a 6th grader and he was big for an 8th grader. In front of everyone he said, “If you’re gonna talk like that, why don’t you back it up? Throw the first punch.”
Without going into the details, it didn’t end well for me that day. I walked home with a bloody nose and trying to pull my cheeks out of my braces. I was good at talking a big talk, but not so much at backing it up.
Talk without action is worthless.
I believe God is challenging us, through Solomon, “If you’re gonna talk like that, why don’t you back it up?”
It’s easy to make a plan. It’s easy to talk about all the things you’re about and that you plan to do. It’s easy to dream. But if standing alone, those things will lead only to poverty.
We talk day after day about “multiplying Christ-followers everywhere,” but how many of us are actually putting in ‘hard work’ to do it? We talk about the importance of spending time with God and devoting ourselves to prayer (like we read the other day in Colossians 4), but are we actually doing those things?