Hammer on Anvil '

With all of the new year’s resolutions being made, I thought I would provide some wise options from Proverbs. I think that all of us could work on a few, if not all, of these. I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year!

View Worldly Wealth with Caution
“Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” – 11:4
“One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.” – 13:7

Act with Prudence, Not Anger
“A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” – 12:16
“A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.” – 14:16

Don’t Be Lazy
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” – 6:10-11
“The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” – 13:4

Be Open to Being Corrected
“He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.” – 15:32
“…fools despise wisdom and discipline.” – 1:7b

Seek Advice for Big Decisions
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” – 12:15
“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” – 13:20

Go to God for Guidance
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” – 16:25
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” – 16:3

"What do you think of someone who only does the bare minimum?"

...what you could put off to the day after tomorrow. A procrastinator's motto. Last month I was typing a post and my friend Jay was waiting on me so we could go eat/hang out. As I went back to edit something, he mentioned that there is a feature in which you can type the blog ahead of time and set the time for it to post. Without hesitation, I looked at him and said, "Every semester, in every class, I received a syllabus with the due dates for papers that I could begin working on whenever. Yet I still typed them the night before they were due."

Why is it that I did this (and continue to do so with other things)? For one, the sense of urgency gives me the motivation to stick with it and get it done quickly. True some of the quality is lessened in the mad rush to finish, but it still made the grade or wouldn't make much difference either way. This is where I get caught. Growing up I learned how to squeak by, how to do just enough. Should this be our aim?

Previously, I mentioned the Gains of Drudgery, the doing of unpleasant tasks/training in order to be able to compete well. Now I ask, should our goal be to do the minimum, to squeak by...or to pursue excellence? "Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord, and not for people..." Many might have expected I quote this (and I caught myself cringe when I started to) because it seems to be said so much. However, this is because it is necessary. What if instead of dismissing this verse, we actually tried to live and work with enthusiasm and excellence?

Brett

When I was in band/choir in middle school, we had what we called the "Cassady Rule." It was the director's name and the phrase referred to the time adjustment we had to make. If Cassady told us our parents needed to pick us up at 7, we would tell them 7:30. Most often we were the ones correct.

Perhaps you know of people that you automatically make a similar time adjustment for or have friends that put off stuff to the last minute and you have to deal with it. Not so much the time adjustment, but the putting off stuff is what I struggle with. A verse that comes to my mind every morning as I hit snooze for the 5th time is Proverbs 6:10-11: "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." I also think of the things I would like to read, write, or do and end up waiting so long that I can't possibly accomplish it. Can you relate?

There is much wisdom in Proverbs and elsewhere about this; it's called discipline and I'd like to talk about it...next week.

Brett