"I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense. I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."
Proverbs 24:30-34
Over the past 20 years, I've listened to many people describe the difficulties they're facing with finances, relationships, employment, balancing their work life and home life. One thing I've noticed is that the problems being discussed, although very complex to the person in the situation, have become more and more simplistic - at least to me. Now, hear me out. I'm not saying that I've become so smart that I can figure out any situation. What I'm saying is, the issues that seem to be so complex in today's world were easily handled by my parents or my ancestors. Many of our "toughest problems" are caused by our own actions or our own LACK of actions.
Let me give you an example. I was discussing the recent run up in gasoline prices with some of my younger co-workers. As I listened to their viewpoints on the situation, it occurred to me that these people were not even born yet when the energy crisis of the 70's hit. (Yes, I grew up in the 70's. And yes, I hate it when reality slaps me in the face with the fact that I'm getting older!) After the discussion had gone on for awhile, I jumped in with "at least there was gas to buy." The conversation came to an abrupt stop as everyone of the "kids" turned to stare at me as if I was crazy. I then explained the "Energy Crisis" of the mid-70's and how it didn't matter how much the price was because there wasn't any fuel to buy. Lines formed around gas stations. People were only allowed to buy gas on certain days based on whether their license plate number was odd or even. (That's right, vanity plates didn't exist).
These kids had not ever seen a situation like this in their entire life. They had not lived in an era of double digit inflation, double digit unemployment. Suddenly, I felt like my grandparents must've felt when they were explaining the Great Depression to me. And I'm sure the kids felt like I did when I was listening to my grandparents tell their stories. It occurred to me, though, that the times have not been as tough as they were back then. The 70's weren't as tough as 30's, and so on. Over the years, we've become soft... We've become LAZY! My parents both worked full-time and when things got rough, they both started their own businesses on the side in order to try to make ends meet. Today, the thought of working two jobs, to most people, is absurd! It would cut into their napping time. Our ancestors didn't have the luxury of sleeping in if they wanted to survive.
This proverb points out that if we rank sleeping higher than providing for our self, then living in poverty is the choice we are making. Unfortunately, the current worldly thinking is that the government should step in an help those people that are struggling. Now, I'm all in favor of helping people out when they are in trouble, but we should have a realistic operational definition of what it means to be "in trouble." You're not "in trouble" if you have a warm place to sleep and food in your belly. Although you may not like your situation, it does not mean that you are "in trouble." Your situation may have been caused by personal choices that you made throughout your life and now it's time to pay the price for those choices. Maybe these personal choices are still being made on a daily basis due to some kind of addiction, whether it be drug addiction, alcohol addiction, lottery addiction, gambling addiction, video game addiction, pornography or maybe something else. The first action would be to kick the addiction so you can make better choices from now on.
Next, you need to be inspired. You truly can do anything that you put your mind to doing. If you want to start your own business, do it! If you want to go back to school and get that degree, do it. Yes, it may take a while to get the goal completed and it will definitely take some extra effort but it will be very satisfying! One of the best byproduct of doing this is the stories you'll have later on about the journey you are only thinking about taking today. Look at how difficult the task looks on this side of accomplishing it, but when you take your first step and you start visualizing yourself completing the task, the journey is already started and the stories are being created. How do I fund this activity? Where will the time come from? How do I make this dream happen? I DON’T KNOW!! But take the steps, start the journey and tell me how it's going for you! Start writing your own recovery story or your own story about your journey. Pray about it each day and ask God to help you see the path that He has for you. Then take the steps to make it happen. You CAN do it!!
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
Let me give you an example. I was discussing the recent run up in gasoline prices with some of my younger co-workers. As I listened to their viewpoints on the situation, it occurred to me that these people were not even born yet when the energy crisis of the 70's hit. (Yes, I grew up in the 70's. And yes, I hate it when reality slaps me in the face with the fact that I'm getting older!) After the discussion had gone on for awhile, I jumped in with "at least there was gas to buy." The conversation came to an abrupt stop as everyone of the "kids" turned to stare at me as if I was crazy. I then explained the "Energy Crisis" of the mid-70's and how it didn't matter how much the price was because there wasn't any fuel to buy. Lines formed around gas stations. People were only allowed to buy gas on certain days based on whether their license plate number was odd or even. (That's right, vanity plates didn't exist).
These kids had not ever seen a situation like this in their entire life. They had not lived in an era of double digit inflation, double digit unemployment. Suddenly, I felt like my grandparents must've felt when they were explaining the Great Depression to me. And I'm sure the kids felt like I did when I was listening to my grandparents tell their stories. It occurred to me, though, that the times have not been as tough as they were back then. The 70's weren't as tough as 30's, and so on. Over the years, we've become soft... We've become LAZY! My parents both worked full-time and when things got rough, they both started their own businesses on the side in order to try to make ends meet. Today, the thought of working two jobs, to most people, is absurd! It would cut into their napping time. Our ancestors didn't have the luxury of sleeping in if they wanted to survive.
This proverb points out that if we rank sleeping higher than providing for our self, then living in poverty is the choice we are making. Unfortunately, the current worldly thinking is that the government should step in an help those people that are struggling. Now, I'm all in favor of helping people out when they are in trouble, but we should have a realistic operational definition of what it means to be "in trouble." You're not "in trouble" if you have a warm place to sleep and food in your belly. Although you may not like your situation, it does not mean that you are "in trouble." Your situation may have been caused by personal choices that you made throughout your life and now it's time to pay the price for those choices. Maybe these personal choices are still being made on a daily basis due to some kind of addiction, whether it be drug addiction, alcohol addiction, lottery addiction, gambling addiction, video game addiction, pornography or maybe something else. The first action would be to kick the addiction so you can make better choices from now on.
Next, you need to be inspired. You truly can do anything that you put your mind to doing. If you want to start your own business, do it! If you want to go back to school and get that degree, do it. Yes, it may take a while to get the goal completed and it will definitely take some extra effort but it will be very satisfying! One of the best byproduct of doing this is the stories you'll have later on about the journey you are only thinking about taking today. Look at how difficult the task looks on this side of accomplishing it, but when you take your first step and you start visualizing yourself completing the task, the journey is already started and the stories are being created. How do I fund this activity? Where will the time come from? How do I make this dream happen? I DON’T KNOW!! But take the steps, start the journey and tell me how it's going for you! Start writing your own recovery story or your own story about your journey. Pray about it each day and ask God to help you see the path that He has for you. Then take the steps to make it happen. You CAN do it!!
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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