Work or Talk

Sunday, October 13, 2013

by Dr. Paul Chappell

"In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.""

Proverbs 14:23

According to a recent study published in Forbes magazine on behavior in the workplace, 90 percent of employees said that they wasted at least some time each day at work. On average those employees were wasting about forty-five minutes per day. By far, the biggest time waster reported was talking to co-workers, with 43 percent of people saying they wasted time in this way. Economists estimate the value of wasted time each year to be in the billions of dollars.

When we view work properly, we recognize the value and importance of it. God has designed work not only to build and strengthen our character, but also to produce positive results. In God’s plan, there is a connection between labor and reward. That is why in the Old Testament those who owned fields were commanded to leave some beyond so that the poor could come and find food. “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest” (Leviticus 19:9). The New Testament echoes this command in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

Of course work has little appeal to our fallen nature. Instead, people look for ways to acquire wealth without effort. This explains the popularity of the lottery, which, as someone noted, is a tax on people who are bad at math. All of the dollars paid out in prize money are taken from those who buy tickets in hopes of getting rich quick. Many people who do win end up in much worse shape financially after the passage of time. God’s plan is that we would work willingly and trust Him to reward us.

Today's Growth Principle
When it is time to work, work hard and diligently, and your efforts will be rewarded.

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 43-44

CHAPTER 43

¹ But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. ² When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. ³ For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. ⁴ Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. ⁵ Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; ⁶ I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; ⁷ Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

⁸ Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. ⁹ Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. ¹⁰ Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. ¹² I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. ¹³ Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

¹⁴ Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. ¹⁵ I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. ¹⁶ Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; ¹⁷ Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. ¹⁸ Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. ¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. ²⁰ The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. ²¹ This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

²² But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. ²³ Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. ²⁴ Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. ²⁵ I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. ²⁶ Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. ²⁷ Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. ²⁸ Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

CHAPTER 44

¹ Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: ² Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. ³ For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: ⁴ And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. ⁵ One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel. ⁶ Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. ⁷ And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. ⁸ Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

⁹ They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. ¹⁰ Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. ¹² The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. ¹⁴ He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. ¹⁵ Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. ¹⁶ He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: ¹⁷ And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. ¹⁸ They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? ²⁰ He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

²¹ Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. ²² I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. ²³ Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. ²⁴ Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; ²⁵ That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; ²⁶ That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: ²⁷ That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: ²⁸ That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

New Testament Reading

1 Thessalonians 2

CHAPTER 2

¹ For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: ² But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. ³ For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: ⁴ But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. ⁵ For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: ⁶ Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

⁷ But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: ⁸ So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. ⁹ For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. ¹⁰ Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: ¹¹ As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, ¹² That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

¹³ For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. ¹⁴ For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: ¹⁵ Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: ¹⁶ Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

¹⁷ But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. ¹⁸ Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. ¹⁹ For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? ²⁰ For ye are our glory and joy.

Proverbs Reading

Proverbs 14

¹ Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. ² He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. ³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. ⁴ Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. ⁵ A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies. ⁶ A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth. ⁷ Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge. ⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. ⁹ Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. ¹⁰ The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. ¹¹ The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. ¹² There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. ¹³ Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. ¹⁴ The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. ¹⁵ The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. ¹⁶ A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. ¹⁷ He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated. ¹⁸ The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. ¹⁹ The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. ²⁰ The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends. ²¹ He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. ²² Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good. ²³ In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. ²⁴ The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly. ²⁵ A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies. ²⁶ In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. ²⁷ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. ²⁸ In the multitude of people is the king's honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. ²⁹ He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. ³⁰ A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. ³¹ He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. ³² The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death. ³³ Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known. ³⁴ Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. ³⁵ The king's favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.