Working on Making wise Steps Proverbs 14:23;6:6-11; 24:30-34;
Since this is Labor Day, this is the perfect time to examine what Proverbs mentions about work. Some people work, and some only talk about working. Still others talk when they should be working. The clear-cut contrasts in this proverb are…labor versus talk .profit versus poverty. This is a simple proverb contrasting productive performance with mere talk. People who work hard are rewarded with profit, but those who do not work lack life's necessities. Laziness is a problem within society, no matter where it is uncovered. Lazy people are inefficient, less productive, more likely to have accidents, and fail to contribute all they can to society. Lazy workers produce less; lazy students learn less; and lazy property owners have unkempt, unattractive, and deteriorating properties. These proverbs should speak to the heart of the lazy. A tekton was 'someone who could work with wood, metal, or stone. He could be a builder, a mason, or a carpenter. In Jesus' Palestinian context, it probably denoted a woodworking handyman.'' Jesus knew what it was like to do difficult work. The creator of the universe (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2) was a laborer.
On the night of his arrest, Jesus prayed to the Father, ''I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do'' (John 17:4). In all of his work-whether it was his work as a carpenter, his work as a teacher, or his work as a Savior dying for the sins of the world-Jesus glorified the Father.
