Last week we studied Ecclesiastes 9:10. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”.[1] We saw what is required of us. We are to do our best with what we can while we can. Now, as we continue our “Hands
On!” series, we will see what our reward is when we do with all our might whatever our hand finds to do.
When people tell us to do our best, we tend to think that we will do our best when and only when our pay is high, when the company is great or when we like our job. But, until that time comes, we just try to get by. We take it easy. We just put in enough work to keep us from getting fired but not so much to make us tired. We see it as our way of fighting back. We think it is just right because our pay is chicken feed, our company sucks and our job is boring.
Yet, today we will look at Proverbs 12:24, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” Again we printed for you the verse. So, let’s memorize it together. Repeat after me, “Diligent hands will rule”. [Audience: “Diligent hands will rule”.] “…but laziness ends in slave labor.” [Audience: “but laziness ends in slave labor.”] Let’s recite it again. [Audience recites the verse.] Together! “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” This morning, we will see that when we do our best, we will ENJOY God’s BEST. Let us commit our time to the Lord…
Our verse tells us the diligent rules. With the conjunction “but,” the words “Diligent hands” are set against “laziness”. That’s why the New Living Translation goes like this: “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.” In other words, work hard and you will be promoted. Be lazy and you will be demoted or, worst, you will be fired. You will be out of work. I could almost hear some of you say, “Yeah, right! You don’t know my situation at work. I have been working like a dog but I am still where I started and I could see no promotion at all.” This could even be the reason why we feel lazy doing our job or even going to work. You just can’t motivate or make yourselves work hard. If that is your situation right now, please listen to me first.
Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings that King Solomon wrote and compiled. He was the ultimate wise guy. In his book, “Making Life Work,” Bill Hybels clarified that “Proverbs was not written as a book of promises or rigid rules about life.” For example, Proverbs 22:6 tell us, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” But we know of people who grew up in Sunday school or in a Christian school yet now they no longer attend church. One graduate of a Christian high school told us about her shock when she met with former classmates. They tried to pressure her to drink liquor and smoke cigarettes. Cuss words came out of their lips. They even mocked her when she tried to invite them back to church. It is really “parang nakawala sa kural.”[2] We know that there are times parents who did their best to discipline their children end up with those who rebel. Does that mean that Proverbs 22:6 is not true? No, still it holds true. Proverbs do not guarantee that our children will continue in the Lord when we discipline them. But it is almost guaranteed that they will turn their back from Him when we fail to train them. Hybels explained that “Proverbs simply tells how life works most of the time. You can worry about the exceptions after you have learned the rule. Try to live by the exceptions, and you court disaster.” Yes, there is no guarantee that we will be successful when we work hard. But it is almost guaranteed that we will not be successful when we are lazy.
In a sense, it is a calculated risk. We may do our best and still face the risk that our boss could not see or appreciate our best effort. Our co-workers may not even like what we are doing. They may even end up seeing us as a competition to their promotion. I know of a salesperson that did his best. But his immediate superior saw him more as a threat. The boss was his friend. But he got into the company on his own merits. Yet, the sales manager thought the boss was attempting to replace him. The manager got intimidated. Thus, he decided to put down every sale that the salesperson had. He always found fault in everything he did. He scolded him almost every day. He bullied him. That discouraged the salesperson. Sadly, his sales went down. So, the manager grabbed the chance to fire him. Things like that can and will happen. It is really a risk. We work hard, we pay the right taxes, we treat our employees well, we give the right wages and perks, we even hold Bible studies for them, yet still our company is on the brink of going bankrupt because of the global financial crisis. But still it is a risk worth taking. Because still it holds true, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”
Let’s look at the first part. “Diligent hands will rule”. “Rule” means “to have authority, power or control.” At present you may be a follower. But when you work hard, you will become a leader someday. Proverbs 22:29 tell us, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” People will notice your hard work. You may be promoted where you are right now. You may be promoted elsewhere. And even if you may not be promoted at this time, the point is that because you work hard you are “promotable.”
We see here that diligence is the price you pay for promotion. Promotion is the prize. We cannot have the prize without paying the price. It is only in the dictionary that success comes before work. There are some who climbed to juicy positions in their company because they are COOs… “Children Of Owner.” But they can only take advantage of this privileged status for a time. Ultimately, they have to prove themselves worthy through hard work. There is really no shortcut to success. Some of you may already be established in your business. You may be occupying a top-level position in your company. Diligence gives you staying power. The problem with success is that it is like an airplane. Once you stop flying, you start falling. You stop working hard today, you stop ruling tomorrow.
We don’t have to have an ideal situation to start working hard. If we wait for the ideal workplace, it may not come at all. We have to make the most of what we have right here right now even if it is less than ideal. Someone wrote, “The idea that a diligent person will rule may not mean that he becomes an official, but that he is in charge of whatever his situation may be.”[3] Remember Joseph the dreamer in the Old Testament? Because of sibling rivalry, his brothers sold him as slave. He has all the right to be bitter. Instead, he worked hard as a slave. He was in charge of his situation. Thus, we read this in Genesis 39:3-4, “When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.” Yes, when we do our best, we will enjoy God’s best. God blessed his best efforts.
But, Joseph suffered a setback. The wife of his master framed him up for rape because he refused to give in to her sexual advances. If there’s anyone who has the right to sulk or brood in a corner, it was Joseph. But, he was in charge of his situation. “But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.”[4] He served faithfully while in prison. Again, the diligent ruled.
We know how the story goes. When the right time came, when the Pharaoh needed someone to interpret his dreams, Joseph was the right person for the right job. Then, when the Pharaoh needed to choose the one who would implement the food program for Egypt, he chose somebody with a track record, Joseph. Once again, the diligent ruled. Success does not really fall on our laps. Someone wrote, “Success is when opportunity meets preparation.” Joseph was prepared when the opportunity came. Only the diligent are really prepared to rule. Only those who do their best will enjoy God’s best. You may be experiencing setbacks after setbacks. But if you work hard, if you are diligent, you will rule, you will take charge of whatever situation you may be.
Let’s look at the verse again: “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” Circle the conjunction “but.” Here Solomon contrasted two opposing thoughts. The first part, “Diligent hands will rule,” tells us that when we do our best, we will enjoy God’s best. But the second part, “laziness ends in slave labor,” tells us that when we fail to do our best, we won’t enjoy His best. The diligent will rule. But the lazy will never rule. He will be overruled instead. It means that he will never get promoted. I remember the story of a person who complained to his boss because he got bypassed in a promotion by a younger associate. He told his boss, “I was working here for ten years already. How come you promoted my associate who was here only for two years? I am more experienced than him.” The boss answered, “No, you don’t have ten years of experience. You actually have one year of experience repeated ten times.” Some people just mark time at work. They don’t make the most of their time. They don’t grow personally and professionally. I heard that in a top software company, an employee is required to submit his resume every six months. If his resume did not improve, if he did not attend training or learned a new skill, he will be demoted or fired. So, what if I take a peek at your resume today and compared it with your resume six months ago, would I see you sharpening your skills? Would you be promoted or demoted? Would I see that you are diligent or you are lazy?
The Message version offers another insight about our verse: “The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.” In other words, the diligent will enjoy his work. The lazy will just endure it. The diligent has control over his time. He finds freedom in his work. The lazy doesn’t control his schedule. His work oppresses him. The diligent can even say “no” but the lazy can’t say that. The diligent can afford to take a vacation. The lazy cannot because he is stuck with “no work, no pay.”
If you are a student and you fail to study hard, you might land a job other than your dream job. But, because of your qualification or lack thereof, you just have to settle with a job that you really don’t like. You would just be concerned with getting a job, any job as long as you have a job. That’s tantamount to forced labor.
But, of course, you could turnaround your situation now. With God’s help, you can still take charge of it... starting today. What is it that you need to start? Probably you can start with getting up early. Or, you can start upgrading your skills or pursuing a higher education. What is it that you are doing that you ought to stop? Perhaps you need to stop whining about your pay, about your boss, about your company and start working. Work instead of whine. We need to take a hard look at the way we work.
Brothers and sisters, you can still enjoy God’s best when you start doing your best. For, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” Let us pray…
[1]All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]In English, “Like having escaped from their cages.” This Filipino saying conveys the image of the chaos that ensues when caged animals escape.
[3]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985).
[4]Genesis 39:20-22.
