Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 197 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Proverbs 6:6-11 Lessons for Daily Life #2

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 198 of our Trek, and for this week, we will stay at camp digging for nuggets of wisdom as we continue our exploration into the book of Proverbs, starting with Chapter 6. Yesterday we explored verses 1-5, and today we will explore verses 6-11. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Saturday Paula and I were able to finish up with a few Christmas decorations in the house which turned out simplistic but are a nice touch. The remainder of the day was spent working on financial transactions for our Arizona construction project.  The project is significant in size, and we are catching up from a delay due to computer issues on the site.  Although we initially had set aside the day for 2016 business planning, this project was certainly a top priority for Saturday. I am trying to learn the lessons from Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps...”

As we enjoy the time at camp and around the campfire today, let’s start digging for those precious nuggets of wisdom as we explore Proverbs Chapter 6:6-11. This chapter in Proverbs is referred to as…

Lessons for Daily Life

Today I will read this segment, and then we will dive deeper into our exploration.

⁶ Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
⁷ Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
⁸ they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
⁹ But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
¹⁰ A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
¹¹ then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Now let’s dive into the individual verses starting with 6-8.

⁶ Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
⁷ Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
⁸ they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.

As Christians, you should work at the tasks that God has given to you. You might have a job or work for yourself. You might stay at home and take care of your families. You might work for a church or other non-profit organization. Regardless of what you do, it is your ministry before God, and you should work on it with your full attention and do your very best. Whatever we do, we should not be lazy.

Solomon writes about the work ethics of ants. If you have ever studied how ants work or had an ant farm when you were young, you understand how very hard they do work. Ants work together in groups with no discernable leader except the instinctive behavior God made them with. They are wise because they store food. They do not waste their time, and they are very industrious.

Dealing with lazy people is as old as creation.  In 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13, some Christians refused to work. The church gave food to them. Paul told the church not to do this. “Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.’ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.”

Paul obeyed this lesson himself. Daily, he spoke about God to the people. However, the church did not provide Paul’s wages. Paul deserved money because he spent time ministering God’s Word. Although Paul deserved money, he did not accept money from the church. Instead, he decided to work. He made tents. He earned enough money for himself, and also for other Christian workers. He worked very hard. Paul did this because Jesus taught the same as is written in Acts 20:3, “And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

We also must work to help other people that truly are in need as James 2:14-17 states, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?  So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

These are some very strong arguments to work hard and do good to others.

Now let’s dig up verses 9-11.

⁹ But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
¹⁰ A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
¹¹ then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Solomon continues emphasizing that we must not be lazy. When it is time to work, we must not sleep. In verse 9, Solomon asks the sleeper how long he will sleep. In verse 10, we hear what the sleeper thinks. He does not want to get up. However, he must wake. It is time to work. It is as if a thief is at the door. The sleeper must act responsibly. Otherwise, he is in great trouble. He might lose everything because of his laziness.  As with all bad habits if we neglect our duties of the work that God has provided for us then we will be robbed of the rich and satisfying life that God intends for us.

A similar analogy is made to be alert and ready for Christ 2^nd coming.  Since no one knows when that will be, we need to be working to build God’s kingdom each day and not be lazy and unprepared. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 states, “But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.”

Today, the wisdom nuggets encourage us to work hard and be industrious like the ants. We are not to be lazy or to love sleep.  If we do, we will end up in poverty. In the same way, we are to be alert, ministering to others as we wait for Christ’s return. As we consider these wisdom nuggets, I ask you to be diligent in sharing Wisdom-Trek with your friends and family. Encourage them to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we continue to dig for those nuggets of wisdom from Proverbs Chapter 6 verses 12-19.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day.  Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!