Hard Work

Proverbs 13:4 reminds us of a powerful principle of life: ...The soul of the diligent shall be made fat - in other words hard work really pays off. And when you really stop and think about it, this rule applies to every area of life. Anything worth enjoying always requires a great deal of hard work - a good marriage, godly children, a healthy body, Christ-like character, solid relationships - the list is infinite - the things that really matter in life require us to put forth intense effort! How often we just assume and expect things to fall into place just as we had planned. We forget that hard work is essential to achieving our desires, whatever those desires may be. And once the effort is put forth, then we can know the joy of having our desires met. "The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul..." (Pro13:19)

Faith

Many have faith, but few live by it.

Invest Now!

Proverbs 1 teaches us that there will come a time in our lives, many times according to my own experience, that we will want and need solid wisdom. Unfortunately we often wait to pursue wisdom until we need it the most. We want the ability to decide properly and do what is right when we have to make a decision. And while this is certainly better than lacking the desire to do what is right, Proverbs would have us to understand that if we want wisdom then we must invest in it now. We must listen, learn, and gain understanding now, before we have to make the big decisions of life. How much easier would this be when it came decision time? We would already have the wisdom we need to make God-honoring decisions. Take time to invest in wisdom today, it will most certainly pay off tomorrow!