Diligence versus Laziness

From wealthy Wall Street magnates to university professors with doctorates, from famous entertainers to professional athletes, from Pulitzer-prize-winning journalists to Oscar-winning screenwriters, one quality is universally hailed as critical to achieving difficult goals: diligence. After all, if someone isn't willing to finish the job, why start it?

God'S Word The writer of Proverbs frequently comments on the radically dif-
ferent effects of diligence and laziness. Here are a few examples:

• "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth" (10:4).

• "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment" (12:11).

• "Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor" (12:24).

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Your Walk Are there projects in your life that you started with zeal and then put on the shelf when they got difficult? God is pleased when you stick with a task until it's finished.

Perhaps it's time to take one of those projects from the shelf, blow off the dust,
and pick up where you left off. A difficult task may even bring you to tears, but when you complete it, you'll jump for joy.