Wisdom Principle- Diligence
Wisdom is defined as the ability to live life skillfully. It also is defined as knowing the blessed course of action and taking it. Life for the believer in Jesus Christ is not meant to be desperate and confused. We should be enlightened to know the course of action that leads to God’s place of blessing regardless of how inconvenient that course may seem.
Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing but the soul of the DILIGENT shall be made fat.” No need to worry, this doesn’t mean you’ll gain physical weight by becoming diligent. Maybe that’s why more Christians aren’t diligent. They took this verse literally! No, this means that diligence will make you FULL of God’s goodness. It means His glory will be apparent on your life. That’s the kind of weight we all should gain! This verse is a wisdom verse telling how to get into the place God has for us. There is a life that God provides that only diligence can discover.
Diligence is defined as painstaking effort to obey God. It means not to compromise the truth in order to fulfill your fleshly desires. Many believers look at other Christians who walk in divine peace and power and they desire that for themselves. But then they say, “Well that worked for them but not for me. God must have something better for them.” NO! God is not a respecter of persons. What He does for one He’ll do for all! The problem isn’t on God’s side. People walking in divine power typically are the ones who are always at church when the Word is being taught. They are faithfully serving God in the ministry of helps. They faithfully give and fund the good works. They are a real supply to the Kingdom of God! If we stand by and desire what great Christians have and then do nothing to obtain it from the hand of God then we are sluggards! Lazy Christians are never in church when they could be. Lazy Christians are never serving in the ministry of helps. Lazy Christians are never faithful in their giving.
Proverbs 21:5 says, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness but everyone who is hasty leads only to lack.” The reason why God’s power is not readily demonstrated in a person’s life is because they have not REMAINED diligent. Many people start off faithful but don’t stick with it after the honeymoon stage. I mean they begin a life with God but fall away into oblivion when they start to realize it may take real effort.
Notice that the verse says that hastiness leads to lack. Hastiness means that people rush things to try to benefit themselves. Many are doing that with God. They put God in a box and decide within themselves that if God doesn’t bless them in a certain amount of time then they’ll quit. That’s not diligence! That’s hastiness and it leads to lack. God’s definition of faithfulness is measured in years not days or weeks.
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti, NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
