Proverbs 10:4 “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.”

Lazy Hands Make For Poverty

Laziness equals poverty. And it’s not just financial poverty, but spiritual poverty. Understand that poverty is not a number…it is a mindset. Someone can have very little and be incredibly wealthy, yet someone can be immensely wealthy but be very poor. Notice how the Bible says, “Lazy hands make poverty…” Laziness produces a result; it makes something. And that something is…poverty. If one is unwilling to work for it, one will always be without it.

But Diligent Hands Bring Wealth

Here is the formula…diligence > poverty. Diligence crushes Laziness in hand to hand combat. Diligence involves intentional effort. The dictionary defines diligence as “careful and persistent work or ethic.” You see, it is your diligence that brings wealth. It is not the luck of the draw, happenstance, or favoritism that produces wealth…it is diligence. The Bible is helping us understand our role on this earth is to work the land in order to produce a harvest.

He Who Gathers Crops

You have to do the work of gathering to produce a result. The encouragement here is to go out and look around for what you need in order to be successful. Gathering is about being faithful to step out. You can’t expect a harvest without gathering seed to plant. Too many people are waiting for a harvest without putting anything into the ground. People are waiting for a great move of God, but He is looking for a great move of His people. Start collecting experiences, skills, and opportunities so you’ll be ready for the harvest when it comes. 

In The Summer 

Timing is everything. We have to gather in the summer, meaning before the harvest. Start preparing now for your future possibilities. Diligence involves intense preparation. Poverty does not prepare; it is reactive. However, diligence prepares; it is proactive. Are you preparing yourself for a harvest? Remember what coach John Wooden said, “When opportunity comes it’s too late to prepare.” You must be ready at a moment’s notice to step up; you can only do this when you have prepared on the front end of opportunity.

Is A Prudent Son

Prudence is defined as acting with or showing care and thought for the future. You are called to be prudent. You are called to be expectant about a better future. You have an inheritance awaiting you if you’ll believe and step out in faith. You are a child of God. It is your birthright to receive God’s glory and goodness. 

But He Who Sleeps During Harvest Is A Disgraceful Son

If you waste your life away waiting for something to happen without diligence to make it happen, you are sleeping as the Bible calls it. Too many people are sleepwalking around in life every day. They are alive on the outside but dead on the inside. Meaning, they do their routines but are not living diligently to the calling of God on their life. We must awaken to the greatness within us and rise to the challenge of producing. God will bring the harvest when we have done our part in being diligent. Don’t expect to reap an abundant harvest without sowing a sacrificial seed. It’s time to step up and be ALL that God has called you to be. Time is too short, and your calling is too important to live lazily. Make a choice today to start being 10x more diligent and see what God does as a result…you will be amazed at the harvest you’ll reap!

* Taken from my book Scripture Breakdowns: 12 Pivotal Verses Unpacked Line By Line available Amazon Prime.