Proverbs 24

"Finish your outdoor work and get your field ready; after that build your house."

"I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgement; thorns had come up everywhere the ground was covered with weeds and the stone wall was in ruins."

Here is the thing most people didn't learn...hard work is hard work. This morning while making my lunch and getting some stuff ready for the day, I had my 12 year-old son read Proverbs 24 aloud (multi-tasking is my specialty). He gets to the end where it says,

"A little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to rest-- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

The first thing he says is, "aren't we allowed to sleep." My son is addicted to sleep- so a look of panic was on his face...it was pretty funny.

We went back and discussed the previous verses about outdoor work and I think he realized that sleep was allowed, but that too much of it will keep you from accomplishing anything significant.
He is learning that hard work is hard work. Someday soon he'll realize what many of us already know, easy work doesn't pay very well.

The author of this section of Proverbs is pointing out the need to work on the hard things first. To work on the field made sure the farmer and his family would have food at harvest. That is more important than a house. Not really an American concept but it's still true. Do the work that will pay future dividends before you do the things that will give you immediate comfort.

Most successful people get this principle, most average people sorta get it, and most people on welfare don't. I would vote for the candidate who would replace our welfare policies with Proverbs- but I digress.

I'm not a farmer and you probably aren't either but that doesn't mean the wisdom of Proverbs doesn't apply to us. Since college I have worked at 3 different churches so my only perspective is that of a pastor. Here is what I figured out along the way: Being a good pastor is hard work. Building a good church is hard work. Most churches aren't any good. Most pastors don't work hard. Most pastors reading this just got really mad at me.

Before you loose it let me remind everyone that busyness is not the same thing as working hard.  Most of the pastors I know are busy, but I'm not really sure they have figured out the pastoral equivalent of "outdoor work". Building a good church is hard work. Being a farmer is hard work. Being a plumber is hard work. Being an effective school teacher is hard work.

You and I get to decide how hard we work. Let's not blame anyone else, including our Elder Boards on the results.

Too simplistic? Push back.