Are you working hard or hardly working? There is an enormous difference between the two, isn’t there? Work is not one of those ‘Bible-y’ words or a religious term, but it is nonetheless something that God says a lot about in the Bible; evidently, he cares about it a great deal. In Genesis 2:15 we learn that Adam’s job was to work the garden of Eden (in other words, to care for it). This was Adam’s job before the fall. Therefore, work is good. Work did not come as a result of the fall, for it was commanded by God and performed by Adam prior to his sin. However, after the fall, work became more difficult. The ground was cursed for Adam’s sake and began to bring forth thorns, making his job harder (Genesis 3:17-18).

Because work is good, it means that we can honor God by working hard at honorable tasks. God designed us to be working, productive creatures, so we fulfill his design for us in part when we work hard at honorable tasks. But because work was made more difficult as a result of the fall, we are tempted to not work hard, or maybe even to hardly work at all. Whenever we feel tempted to not work hard or to hardly work at all we should remind ourselves of what God says on the subject. The Proverbs of Solomon are packed with timeless principles about the importance of diligence and hard work and the dangers of laziness and idleness. 

The Proverbs teach us that honest, hard work leads to lasting reward, but by contrast, wealth that is gained hastily or by fraud will diminish (Prov. 13: 11, 21:5). The wise man will be on guard against laziness, for it can quickly overtake a man and ruin him: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like an armed robber…” (Prov. 6:10-11, also 24:33-34). The Proverbs invite us to take a look at the ant and think about the lessons he teaches us about work. Even though the ant has no boss looking over his shoulder and no time clock to punch, he works hard to gather food and stores it up for a later time when he will need it (Prov. 6:6-8). We stand to learn an important lesson about diligent work from the little ant, such a small and seemingly insignificant bug. Let’s all strive to be more like the ant that works diligently. Yes, work can be mundane and tiresome but remember that work is good and that we honor God by doing honest work with a cheerful attitude.

Parents, a spouse, children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends—the people around us are often the greatest blessings in our lives, filling our hearts with joy, laughter, and companionship. Yet, ironically, the same people can also be some of the greatest sources of hurt, disappointment, and frustration we will ever experience. While it is impossible to prevent all hurt and conflict, our relationships with other people can be much more meaningful if we apply God’s wisdom to those relationships. The Proverbs contain wisdom for many types of relationships, but let’s take a moment to consider the wisdom of the Proverbs specifically for friendships.

The Proverbs teach us to choose our friends carefully. “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov. 12:26). When choosing friends who will be your inner circle, it is imperative that you choose carefully. The consequences of choosing unwisely could be disastrous and you could be led away from the right path. In another Proverb, the same point is made with a specific example. “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul” (Prov. 22:24-25). We must carefully choose friends who will assist us in our pursuit of holiness. This is certainly not to say you cannot have friends who are not Christians or who have sin issues to work on. Indeed, we all struggle with many things. Rather, this is to say that your closest associates should be those who are on the same trajectory of godliness, because if you make friendships with violent or angry or wicked people, you could all too easily be ensnared in their wicked ways.

We often emphasize this truth about choosing friends carefully to teens and young adults, and rightly so, for teens can be especially susceptible to peer pressure. Nevertheless, this applies to adults just as much as it applies to teens. We never outgrown the need for friendship. If you have godly friends in your life, do not take them for granted. Be the friend who loves at all times (Prov. 17:17) and refrain from doing foolish things that could ruin that friendship (Prov. 17:9). If you do not have godly friends in your life, make every effort to seek and cultivate a godly friendship today. And remember, if we want to have friends, we have to start by being friendly ourselves (Prov. 18:24). It will take time and effort, but a good friendship is worth investing in. And when we apply godly wisdom to our friendships, they can be so much more than mere social structures for doing fun things together. A godly friendship can be a comfort to our soul and a catalyst for your growth in godliness. This week, I encourage you to invest in your friendships and to thank the people who have been a godly friend to you.

Thomas Yukich

Acts 27:23

Have you ever been on the sea or the ocean during a storm? I cannot imagine the type of storm that the apostle Paul and his companions experienced that is described for us in Acts 27. Paul and Luke (maybe other companions, too) were sailing from Caesarea to Rome where Paul would stand on trial before Caesar. Their travels were slowed because of bad weather (Acts 27:7-8) and Paul warned the captain of the ship and the Roman centurion to stay put in a certain harbor. Nevertheless, they made the decision to forge on ahead with the trip, even though it was a dangerous time of the year to sail (Acts 27:9, 12). Before long, Paul and the ship encountered a terrible storm. It was so bad that the sailors threw the ship’s cargo and tackle overboard to lighten the ship. The storm would last for fourteen days (Acts 27:27). The rest of the story is fascinating, but in the middle of the account Paul says a few words that hold a lesson for us.

Sometime in the middle of that storm, Paul stood up and urged all his fellow travelers to “take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid Paul; you must stand before Caesar, and behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told” (Acts 27:22-25). Did you notice what Paul said about God? He called him “the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.” Although this is not the main point in the story, it is incredibly important. With these simple words, Paul is stating two great truths about God.

First, God is the One to whom Paul belongs, and by extension, to whom we all belong. We belong to God in more than just one way: we belong to him because he created us, and we belong to him because he saved us and called us to be his children. There is no doubt in Paul’s mind; he knows that he belongs to God. Second, God is the object of Paul’s worship. Truly, God is the only rightful object of our worship. Nothing else and no one else deserves our worship. Yet God is entirely worthy of our worship, for he is perfect, holy, just, and loving. He is a jealous God who will not give his glory to any other, meaning that it is an insult against God to worship anything other than him. Paul knew that God is only One who deserves worship. Do you have this same clarity in your life? Let’s take a lesson from Paul by remembering that God is the only One to whom we belong and whom we worship!