December 24, 2024

Proverbs 10:1-7  (HCSB)
A Collection of Solomon’s Proverbs
10 Solomon’s proverbs: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother. 2 Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death. 3 The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the wicked what they crave. 4 Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches. 5 The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful. 6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 7 The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Andrew Ivey
In today’s passage we see the wicked contrasted with the godly. We are told God takes care of the godly, but He refuses to satisfy the cravings of the wicked. Even the remembrance of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. There’s something unexpected in this passage, though, that we should be careful not to miss. In the middle of the contrast between the godly and wicked is a contrast between the hard working and the lazy. This contrast is not out of place. Throughout scripture, the character trait of being hard working is seen as righteous, while the trait of being lazy is equated to being wicked. You find this across scripture in both the Old and New Testaments. This truth is why Paul says in 1 Thess. 3:10, “If a man is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” The principle supporting Paul’s statement can be found in creation. Work is not a result of the fall. Difficult work tainted by sin is a result of the fall. From the very beginning, man was created to work. In Genesis 2:15, before man sinned, God tasked man to “cultivate and keep” the Garden of Eden. When we put these truths together, it means laziness is sin. You need to remove laziness from your life, just as you remove sin from your life. You need to pursue diligence in your life, just as you pursue righteousness in your life. Because diligence is righteous, and laziness is sin.