- Jun 29, 2019
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Proverbs 14:23 says “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” Sounds simple, but it can be seen as a still water that runs deep.
God in Genesis laid out the path to profit for us. In Genesis 1:28 he commands us to be fruitful. How do we become fruitful? By a twist of fate, put into motion by Adam and Eve eating the Apple, God has determined in Genesis 3:19 that by our own sweat will gains be made. But in terms of workers, those who have sweated, the issue has always been who gets the gains of the workers’ sweat?
To some extent the workers get the gains, but much of those gains are acquired by those who preside over these workers. So, gains, profits if you will, are generated, but not all of it goes to those who generated it.
But make no mistake, anyone who generates profit through honest means, that is, in the course of loving your neighbor, works for God. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done in love.” So, a person who burglarizes a home is not working for God when the burglary is an end to itself. For where is the love when your take is someone else’s loss? Very different from when, say, you take wages in exchange for the value you give. And did the Lord not command us to not steal?
And what of the talker? Does all talk lead to poverty? It doesn’t if talking creates value. Think of talkers on talk shows. Think of newscasters. Think of stand-up. This kind of talk is really work, since the talkers receive money for it, and in exchange the ones who pay them benefit from their talking. To the extent that the talking isn’t composed of lies, it is God’s work.
What of those whose talk is in the form of promises that aren’t delivered? Well, that kind of talk can lead to poverty, especially if the talk is all the person has to offer. Eventually, people won’t believe such a talker, and that person will fall into poverty. What if the talk is at someone else’s expense? Think of false accusations made against one’s neighbor. Think of government elected officials making false charges against someone. Eventually, the one that falsely accuses others will be left out in the cold.
Of course, some may benefit from the attention the person who falsely accuses gets. But there are many that work to please God and who work out of love for others, which also pleases God, who will eventually come to realize that the person who falsely accuses has outgrown his usefulness, and with the passage of time he will be impoverished. If he isn’t impoverished in terms of money, he is in regard to friends he doesn’t have.
Those who do God’s work eventually get their just due. And as Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
God in Genesis laid out the path to profit for us. In Genesis 1:28 he commands us to be fruitful. How do we become fruitful? By a twist of fate, put into motion by Adam and Eve eating the Apple, God has determined in Genesis 3:19 that by our own sweat will gains be made. But in terms of workers, those who have sweated, the issue has always been who gets the gains of the workers’ sweat?
To some extent the workers get the gains, but much of those gains are acquired by those who preside over these workers. So, gains, profits if you will, are generated, but not all of it goes to those who generated it.
But make no mistake, anyone who generates profit through honest means, that is, in the course of loving your neighbor, works for God. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done in love.” So, a person who burglarizes a home is not working for God when the burglary is an end to itself. For where is the love when your take is someone else’s loss? Very different from when, say, you take wages in exchange for the value you give. And did the Lord not command us to not steal?
And what of the talker? Does all talk lead to poverty? It doesn’t if talking creates value. Think of talkers on talk shows. Think of newscasters. Think of stand-up. This kind of talk is really work, since the talkers receive money for it, and in exchange the ones who pay them benefit from their talking. To the extent that the talking isn’t composed of lies, it is God’s work.
What of those whose talk is in the form of promises that aren’t delivered? Well, that kind of talk can lead to poverty, especially if the talk is all the person has to offer. Eventually, people won’t believe such a talker, and that person will fall into poverty. What if the talk is at someone else’s expense? Think of false accusations made against one’s neighbor. Think of government elected officials making false charges against someone. Eventually, the one that falsely accuses others will be left out in the cold.
Of course, some may benefit from the attention the person who falsely accuses gets. But there are many that work to please God and who work out of love for others, which also pleases God, who will eventually come to realize that the person who falsely accuses has outgrown his usefulness, and with the passage of time he will be impoverished. If he isn’t impoverished in terms of money, he is in regard to friends he doesn’t have.
Those who do God’s work eventually get their just due. And as Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
