Godly Wisdom - Work (Proverbs 6.6-8, 10.4-5, 12.11, 13.4, 15.19, 21.25-26, 24.27 and 26.13-14)

Introduction

In November 1991 a man named Dan Gookin published a book called DOS for Dummies. It was a step-by-step guide, in non-technical language, to Microsoft’s Disc Operating System. 

It became a massive commercial success because it was the first really simple beginners’ manual in plain English on home computing. Technical terms and acronyms were explained in a way a child could grasp. There were cartoons. There was a glossary. There was humour. People loved it and other titles, all of them focused on software and technology, quickly followed.

But soon afterwards they branched out into more general-interest topics like Fishing for Dummies, Slimming for Dummies, Bass Guitar for Dummies, British History for Dummies, Handling Your Money for Dummies, Parenting for Dummies, Anger Management for Dummies and even Happiness for Dummies.

There are thousands of titles in the series published now in many languages. For Dummies books are loved because they spell out sometimes really complex ideas in plain language so that ordinary people can understand and learn. It’s wisdom for everyone.

Proverbs – Everyday Wisdom

The Book of Proverbs in the Bible is God’s Living Wisely for Dummies. There are no confusing theological terms in Proverbs like sanctification or soteriology or eschatological or premillennial dispensationalism. You don’t need a Theological College degree to understand it. There’s no ivory tower theory in Proverbs. It’s about everyday life. It tells you how life works. It’s godly common sense.

And it uses vivid, earthy language that everyone gets to convey God’s thoughts about living wisely. Here are two good examples… From chapter 11; “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman with no good sense.” Everybody I’m sure can bring to mind a mental image of someone they know a bit like that.

Then this one from chapter 27; “If anyone loudly blesses their neighbour early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” This is the super-spiritual but insensitive young Christian who needs to learn a bit of tact if he’s going to become any use at witnessing.

Proverbs calls a spade “a spade”.

·         It talks about good choices and bad ones

·         It talks about work and laziness

·         It talks about speaking words that bring death or that give life

·         It talks about controlling your temper and losing it 

·         It talks about people to choose as friends and people you can’t trust

·         It talks about how to raise children well and badly

·         It talks about fearing the Lord or living as a fool

Those are really good life skills.

Lent and Proverbs

Four days ago, it was Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the beginning of Lent. Some Christians sneer a bit at the idea of man-made seasons like Lent, Advent and Epiphany and I get that – I know, the word Lent is nowhere found in the Bible. But I actually think the idea of Lent is biblical.

Because even in the Old Testament, God called his people at times to observe holy fasts. He led them into seasons of brokenness, to lament their sins in sackcloth and ashes.

In the New Testament, when John the Baptist came, he preached repentance and self-denial with a ceremony of cleansing and penance – and Jesus commended him as the greatest man who ever lived.

The Apostle James wrote to a church living in luxury and self-indulgence to examine themselves, and to weep and wail about their indifference towards the poor. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.” The Lord Jesus himself of course often went off to solitary places to pray and, as we know, he fasted for 40 days in the desert.

That fast, when Jesus was tempted by the devil, is what the whole idea of Lent is based on; it is about walking in the Lord’s footsteps as we get ready to reflect deeply and intently on his sufferings, his death for us and his resurrection.

Lent is a practical season in the church’s year. Since quite early times, Christian people have used the weeks before Easter for spiritual discipline and training in righteousness - a few weeks set apart to spend more time on praying, fasting, Bible study, giving and so on.

That’s why we’re doing a short series on Book of Proverbs. Because, as I’ve just said, it’s a very practical, hands-on book.

One really important thing I need to say about proverbs, right away, is that they are proverbs and not promises. In other words, they tell you how life works most of the time but not all the time.

Too many cooks… spoil the broth. That means that people often get in each other’s way if there are too many in one place at the same time. We’ve all been there. Too many cooks spoil the broth but, on the other hand, many hands make… light work.

Too many cooks spoil the broth and many hands make light work are both generally true, but not always; in fact, they contradict each other. So, which is best? A big team of volunteers or a small one? It depends – and wise people know what it depends on.

So, proverbs tell you how things work out in life most of the time. Even the proverbs in the Bible (and I say this as one who believes in the inspiration and trustworthiness of Scripture) even proverbs in the Bible are not always true, all the time. There are exceptions. Don’t worry about the exceptions – learn the rule.

Here’s an example from our selection today: Proverbs 12.11 says “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”

That’s a proverb, not a promise. If we take it as a promise from God, what about the diligent, hardworking farmer whose crops get totally destroyed by freak weather? Will she have abundant food? No.

And what about the man who chases the fantasy of winning the Euro-Millions lottery and happens upon the one in a hundred-million winning ticket? Is he chasing fantasies? No, he is fabulously wealthy even though he did nothing to earn it. 

But those are rare exceptions. They are so uncommon they are actually newsworthy. The general rule, that usually works out, that never makes the news, is that godly, upright, hardworking, wise people usually do well. Almost always. And godless, immoral, lazy and foolish people usually don’t do well. Hardly ever, in fact.

Work and Laziness

Today, we’re going to look at some of the proverbs on the subject of work. Proverbs has a lot to say about it which is good, because we spend about 65% of our waking life at work between the ages of 20 and 70.

But many of us who are unpaid are just as busy as those in paid employment; stay at home mums (and dads), activists putting leaflets though people’s doors, students, bloggers, retired people with a ministry or a hobby, community volunteers etc. 

So I want to define work in the widest possible sense today; not just those of us who have a pay packet for a 9-5 occupation. Work is how we spend our time productively and fruitfully.

Sometimes, people ask me what I do for a living. It’s quite funny watching the disappointment or panic on their faces when I tell them I’m a vicar.

Someone on a plane once asked J. John, the evangelist, what he did for a living. He said, “Oh, I work for a multinational enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We care for our clients from birth to death. We specialise in heart transplants. Our company manual is the world’s best-selling book. We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centres, schools, publishing houses, and nursing homes.”

The person sitting next to him said, “Wow. That sounds amazing. What’s the name of your company again?”

J. John said, “Wait, I haven’t finished yet. Our product is free for anyone who asks. Our founding CEO was born in a nowhere town, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, was unjustly killed, but then rose from the dead! I talk with him every day. The organisation is called the Church, would you like to join?”

That sounds so much better than, “Oh, I’m a vicar in Stockton on Tees.”

There’s an English proverb that says “a woman’s work is never done”, and I’m sure that’s generally true, but it’s true of men too, by and large. Somebody once asked a farmer what was the hardest thing about milking cows," He said, “the hardest thing about milking cows is that they never stay milked."

There are always things to be done. We’re never finished. But work to do is a blessing from God and his mandate for us all is to fill the earth and subdue it.

Gardening, educating, tidying, organizing, caring, designing, cleaning and mending are all good, all work, all God’s will for us and the Proverbs say over and over again that he wants us to be industrious and productive and conscientious.

Fourteen times in the Proverbs there is a reference to the sluggard. It means bone-idle, lazy, always slacking and slothful, dozy, shiftless, slow-moving, apathetic and indifferent. 

Sluggards just languidly slope about, drink tea and run down the clock - with little or nothing to show for their labours at the end of the day.

Five of the eight verses today speak about this sluggard.

Firstly, in 6.6-8 it says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

Harvester ants, which are the most common in Israel, are incredibly industrious and organised creatures. They never seem to stop. They work in teams. They actually adapt their foraging behaviour according to how dry or humid the atmosphere is so they maximize their efficiency.

In exceptionally dry conditions they metabolize fats from seeds to obtain water so even in a prolonged drought they never go thirsty.

They are also great for their micro-environment. They increase seed dispersal and protection, and they provide nutrients that increase seedling survival rates of desert plants.

They also provide aerate the soil through the creation of galleries and chambers, they intermingle deep and upper earth layers and they add organic refuse into the soil.

Proverbs says to every bone-idle, work-shy sluggard just lounging around and nicking a living, “Take a look at that ant colony over there; they haven’t even got a boss paying them a good wage but they’re working hard and saving a bit for a rainy day.”

On the whole, the way life works is this; if you always do an honest day’s work and don’t fritter your money away but put a little by when you can, you’ll do OK.

Proverbs 10.4-5 puts it like this; “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.”

Or put it another way, God graciously gives the birds everything they need for their homes in the trees - but they build the nest.

Two of today’s proverbs actually seem to say that living as a sluggard can have a physical side effect.

Proverbs 13.4 says, “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” 300 computer games and 80 multipacks of crisps later, the sluggard still hasn’t got round to doing anything useful.

And Proverbs 21.25-26 says, “The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.”

You see, the sluggard is always saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” I’ll fix those shelves on Wednesday. I’ll visit that sick neighbour next week. I’ll get round to it. Everything sounds like nagging to sluggards because their natural instinct is to dither and put things off. They have no work ethic.

We can poke fun at the sluggard a bit, but the Bible teaches that all of us are in danger of becoming sluggards. Procrastination is a habit we will all slide into unless we fight it.

In Proverbs 26.13-14 the sluggard comes up with a great excuse for not going to work. Listen to what it says: “A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.”

Sluggards make excuses. “I’m really busy” – no, you’re not. “I’ve got quite a lot on this week” – no you haven’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be on Facebook all day. “I’m a bit tired” – yeah, but what time did you go to bed last night?

“As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.” Back and forth he shifts, rolling from one side of the bed to another, going nowhere in life, like an old door creaking on a hinge.

Sometimes, just occasionally, lazy people get away with it. But ninety-nine times out of a hundred, lazy people get nothing done, become unfit, lack any sense of direction or purpose and tragically waste their lives, always making excuses.

Or as it says in Proverbs 15.19, “The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.”

In other words, a lazy, unfulfilled life is a frustrated life. It’s blocked with thorns. But the path of the upright is a highway. What it’s saying is this: if you live right, things tend to open up for you, in any case more than if you just drift around aimlessly with no focus.

And don’t tell me you’re too old either! On 27 June 2001 The Daily Telegraph carried an article about Sheila Cramp, a 65 year-old blind grandmother who was concerned about the state of repair of her local church in Ramsgate.

What did she do to help? Though she hadn’t driven for 20 years due to her disability, she decided she would drive an Audi TT Roadster at 140 mph around the circuit at Brands Hatch, relying solely on radio communications with her instructor. She said afterwards, “I truly couldn’t see anything. I was concentrating on the voice telling me what to do. The G-forces were tremendous. I could really feel the pressure!”

She’s inspirational, isn’t she?

Ending

The last proverb I want to look at today is 24.27 which says this: “Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.”

What’s this one about? It’s about living with the right priorities. Getting your work in order and getting the fields ready are about making sure, as far as you possibly can, that you have the income you need to live.

Think ahead, plan carefully, work diligently and budget responsibly. Only then is it wise to start a family, or splash out on a new kitchen, or get a TV the size of a door. Godly common sense is to live with your priorities in the right order.

And the biggest priority of all in life is to make sure that Jesus is at the centre of it.

Colossians 3 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Put your faith in Jesus today. As that blind grandmother put all her trust in the voice of her instructor as she hurtled round tht race track, trust God’s word.

Place your work, paid or voluntary, into his hands today and ask him to magnify its significance for his kingdom.

Let’s pray...


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 10 March 2019