Monday Reading: Proverbs 14:23
Key Verse: Proverbs 14:23
23 In all labour there is gain, but the talk of the lips tends only to poverty.
Devotion:
What do you actually work for? Is it because of the money that you get, the satisfaction that you get or maybe it is because you have to – how else will you get through school? Well, no matter what the reason is for you doing work, there is always some gain to be had from working... maybe that is why they call it work! If we did not work as adults then we would not be able to live because we would not earn money to buy the essentials such as food and water. Equally, if we did not work at school then we would not learn anything and would not be able to obtain a job when we leave school.
There are many people who will get very depressed by this cycle of having to work to obtain something and then not being able to obtain everything because the work they are doing does not supply enough. People quite rightly get upset when they do not earn enough to be able to support the lifestyle that they deserve – but who is it that has the right to choose what sort of lifestyle it is that you deserve? We would think that it was us, ourselves; but that is far from the truth. Yes we are able to dictate the amount of money we do earn by a lifelong struggle of hard work – but to what gain is all that work?
It is one thing to talk about the work that you should be able to get and what there is available, but it is an entirely different thing to be able to hold down that job. You could possibly talk yourself into a job, but keeping it would mean that you had to do all the things that you said that you would be able to do. Unfortunately for us we live in a chaotic world where everything is not always going to fall in place. Being able to talk the talk is not going to fill you basket with food – that is something you will very quickly come to realise as you do try to work for a living. The same is true for our walk with God. Being able to quote scripture and talk about God is not the same as having a personal relationship with Him. Words mean very little when you actions do not follow those words...
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you work hard?
Do you know that God knows?
