Showing posts with label Diligence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diligence. Show all posts

Friday, February 23, 2007

Diligence: The Parable of the Talents

Jesus told this parable concerning the kingdom of God. It demonstrates the importance of being diligent with whatever God has place in our hands.
A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, “Do business till I come.” … And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Then came the first, saying, “Master, your mina has earned ten minas.” And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.”

And the second came, saying, “Master, your mina has earned five minas.” Likewise he said to him, “You also be over five cities.”

Then another came, saying, “Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.”

And he said to him, “Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?”

And he said to those who stood by, “Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas … For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Luke 19:12-26)
God has given each of us resources and opportunities, and He expects us to make good use of them, to “do business” for Him until He comes. For Jesus has been given a kingdom, and when He returns, He will be looking for increase. To those who are diligent with what has been placed in their hands, even more will be given. But to those who make excuses, even what little they have will be taken away from them and given to those who will use it faithfully. For all who obey God, He will command the blessing on all they set their hands to. What are you setting your hand to? Are you doing business for Him?

Thursday, February 22, 2007

The Power to Create Wealth: Diligence

The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 28:8)
In addition to commanding the blessing on us in our storehouses, God also promises to bless us in all we set our hands to, when we are obedient to Him.

Just as the Lord cannot command the blessing on your storehouse if you don’t have a storehouse, He also cannot command the blessing on all you set you hand to if you never set your hand to anything. This calls for diligence.
He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
(Proverbs 10:4)

The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
(Proverbs 12:24)

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession.
(Proverbs 12:27)

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
(Proverbs 13:4)

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
(Proverbs 21:5)

Do you see a man who excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men.
(Proverbs 22:29)

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
(Proverbs 27:23-24)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.
(Ecclesiastes 9:10)

In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.
(Ecclesiastes 11:6)
The Hebrew word translated as “diligent” generally means to be incisive or sharp. We might say “on the ball.” It is active, it is timely, it is decisive. It is quick to act, but not without due consideration, to take care of the things that ought to be taken care of. Another word means to be skillful, to excel. Such excellence requires that one be ready and steady in their effort. The word for “diligent” in Proverbs 27:23 is actually the word for “know” used twice, reflecting a Hebrew idiom for emphatic action. The idea in this verse is to do all you can to keep up with what’s going on in your affairs, or your prosperity can easily slip away.

God wants to bless the work of your hand, so set your hand to work.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Power to Create Wealth: Go to the Ant

Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no captain,
Overseer, or ruler,
Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
(Proverbs 6:6-8)
To those who are obedient, God has promised to command the blessing on us in our storehouses and in all we set our hands to. The ant is an example of both the storehouse principle and of diligence. For in the time of harvest, it is busy gathering, storing away food so that it will be available when needed at a later time. The success of the diligent ant is quite different from the results of the lazy:
How long will slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
(Proverbs 6:9-11)
The ant will know plenty, and not be in want. But those who are indolent will lose even what little they have managed to acquire.

Obey the wisdom of God and consider the ant, who knows how to be diligent and how to use the storehouse.

Monday, February 12, 2007

The Power to Create Wealth: Remember the LORD Your God

And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is to this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
How do we remember the LORD our God, who has given us the ability to create wealth? Earlier in Deuteronomy 8, we find this: “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today” (Deuteronomy 8:11).

The Hebrew word for “beware” means to hedge about, guard, protect, attend to, mark, preserve. It introduces something that calls for great diligence. The word for “forget” means to mislay or become oblivious to for lack of attention. It is not forgotten intentionally, but slips the mind because it has not been remembered intentionally.

What are we to be diligent about and mindful of so that we do not forget? To keep — to mark, observe and do — the commandments, judgments and ordinances of the Lord. We remember Him by doing whatever He instructs us to do.

Psalm 1 speaks about the intense happiness and great prosperity of the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly:
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Who leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:2-3)
Notice that it this not a drudgery but a delight, because it is filled with great promise. We don’t remember the Lord and His commandments because He is a hard, cruel taskmaster, but because He is a good and gracious God. The ability to create wealth does not come grudgingly from His hand, but is given freely to those who will take Him at His word and follow His direction. It is an act of His kindness and favor.

We do not keep the commandments just because it is pragmatic for us to do so, but we honor the LORD for who He is in Himself. We do not delight just in the law of the LORD, but also in the LORD Himself. David said, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). It is about a personal relationship, getting to know the heart of God, and letting His heart change our heart so that His desires, which are always good, become our desires as well. The result is that the prosperity of God will always lead us into prosperity, too.
Honor the LORD with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
(Proverbs 3:9-10)
“Honor” is not giving lip-service, but is a very tangible expression. The Hebrew word is kabod, which is the word for “glory.” Literally, it means “heavy” and refers to the weight of good things. We honor the Lord by giving Him the good things out of our possessions and our increase. We literally give Him glory when we bring Him the first and the best (not the last and the least) of all our means. We respond to His prosperity toward us by being prosperous toward Him. Then we find that there is a greater prosperity released toward us as God honors our faithfulness toward Him.

When we remember the LORD our God, He always reminds of His benefits towards us:
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
(Psalm 103:1-5)
When we are diligent to remember the Lord, delighting in Him and His Word, obeying His commandments and instructions, and honoring Him with our possessions and the first and best of all our increase, we are positioned for operating in prosperity and the divine ability to create wealth.

Thursday, February 2, 2006

Diligence and Blessing

He shall be like a tree
Plant by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in is season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:3)
This, of course, is speaking of the one who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mocker, but who delights in the instruction of the LORD and continually meditates on it. Whatever he does shall prosper.

In Deuteronomy 28, describing the blessings of keeping covenant with Yahweh, God puts it this way:
Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today … The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 28:1, 8)
This is a wonderful promise of prosperity. It belongs to Christians under the New Covenant as much as it belonged to Israel under the Old, for the New Covenant is called a better covenant, based upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6). It will not grant less than the Old Covenant, but more.

But these wonderful covenant promises are not all necessarily automatic, they must be appropriated. All Christians have these promises from God, but not all have laid claim to them and experienced the manifestation in their lives.

How do we lay hold of these promises? The answer, of course, is by faith. Faith is believing the promises of God. But it is not enough simply to believe, we must also speak and act in accordance with that faith and those promises. For it is the nature of faith to act. That is why James says that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Paul said that faith works, or expresses itself through love.

Those who walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful are not the crowd who are going to be diligent in the things that bring true prosperity. They may connive and cheat and see some short-term gains, but these will quickly evaporate. And they certainly do not exercise faith working through love.

So the promise of God is that there is prosperity for everyone who delights in His Word and obeys His commands. He will command the blessing on all to which you set your hand. But notice, in the following verses, that diligence is part of His instruction to us.
He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich. (Proverbs 10:4)

The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24)

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession. (Proverbs 12:27)

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. (Proverbs 13:4)

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

Do you see a man who excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men. (Proverbs 22:29)

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations. (Proverbs 27:23-24)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
The Hebrew word translated as “diligent” generally means to be incisive or sharp. We might say “on the ball.” It is active, it is timely, it is decisive. It is quick to act, but not without due consideration, to take care of the things that ought to be taken care of. Another word means to be skillful, to excel. Such excellence requires that one be ready and steady in their effort. The word for “diligent” in Proverbs 27:23 is actually the word for “know” used twice, reflecting a Hebrew idiom for emphatic action. The idea in this verse is to do all you can to keep up with what’s going on in your affairs, or your prosperity can easily slip away.

The promise of God does not mean that we can let diligence go by the wayside. On the other hand, we should not put our trust in diligence. Rather, the promise of God is the assurance that, if we will be diligent we will be successful and prosperous in whatever we do. So have faith in the promise and in faith bring forth diligence.