Posted on 04/10/2022 12:36:08 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Proverbs 10:4-5 KJV).
“He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand,” generally, if a man works hard, he’ll make a living. If folks want to work, they can find work, and they can scratch it out if they must. Folks have done it in lot worse times then we have seen, and a lot worse places than you and I ever have.
“. . . but the hand of the diligent maketh rich,” not only for himself but other people, also his boss.
“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son,” the message here is do it while you have the opportunity presents itself. Don’t wait until the door is shut. In other words, don’t go out to the harvest field after the stuff has already turned brown and is dried-up on the stalk. That’s too late. Do it when it’s time. I marvel at how oblivious people are to stuff that is going on all around them. Now is the time.
“but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame,” Jesus said, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35 KJV). That is the message to the believer that ought to be winning souls. God also has a message to the man that is thinking on getting saved, “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses” (Hebrews 3:15-16 KJV). The message is don’t put off witnessing to others, and don’t put off accepting Christ while you still can.
To the young Christian, if you are ever going to learn anything, and be a strong Christian, start when you are still young. A lot of people have the idea that they will settle down and start really living for God when they turn 25 or so, chances are you won’t. For each person that got saved, or got right at the age of 25 or so, and served God, there are a thousand that didn’t do anything because they couldn’t shake their old habits and ways or running around with their old friends.
We are to wake up to righteousness. There are a number of passages in the New Testament, a constant refrain to believers to “wake up!” Seeing as how it is repeated so often, there must be a whole lot of Christians “sleeping.”
“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (I Corinthians 15:34 KJV).
He said, you’ve got people dying and going to hell all around you, and you are acting like you are living in the Millennium.
“Awake to righteousness,” quit your sinning, quit your fooling around, and get out there and win folks to Jesus Christ and do what you can while you still can. There are other passages which deal with this as well.
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11 KJV).
“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14 KJV).
Paul is speaking to three different groups: The church at Corinth, the church at Rome, and the church at Ephesus: “Wake up!” We can assume, since Paul had to say this to so many of his churches, that most Christian people are asleep at the switch when it comes to doing the job and getting it done when they have the opportunity.
Opportunities pass us every day. We’ll never know until we get to eternity how many opportunities we had to witness, to pass out tracts, put out the Gospel, be a good influence, help somebody.
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