6 September 2015
Hardwork and Honesty are two key guiding principles to earning a fair wage. The concept of work is God’s plan for man. In Genesis, after God formed Adam and breathed life into him, he was placed in the Garden of Eden, “to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). Thus work is God-ordained. Unfortunately, dis-Honesty reared its ugly head when the snake (satan) tempted Eve and Adam to disobey God’s commandment: “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17). They then hid from God and lied to Him about their disobedience. The consequence of this sin was that work became hard work. For God told Adam that it would be through “painful toil” that he will eat food from the ground and by the “sweat of your brow” he will eat his food (Genesis 3:17,19).
The book of Proverbs has many wise counsels on the virtues of hard work. These Proverbs denounces laziness as it will result in poverty but the practice of diligence will certainly bring wealth. This virtue of diligence should be taught from our very young where some form of work can be given to young children to do at home. Many children in our homes are not given any “house-work” to do, they only do school “homework”. Discipline and diligence are important foundational character qualities to inculcate in our young children. “For the hand of the diligent will rule…” (Proverbs 12:24).
Who has not bitten on a tiny gravel when eating? It is a very unpleasant experience and one would spit out the food with a force. It would be unimaginably repulsive when one has a “mouth full of gravel” (Proverbs 20:17). Such is the state when dishonest gains are made through deception and illegal practices. The Bible warns us that ultimately this type of fortune is a “fleeting vapour and a deadly snare” (Proverbs 21:6). It will not last and will be found out. The initial sweetness will turn very quickly to bitterness. This is also repeated in the Apostle Paul’s teaching to young Timothy. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9 NKJV). The reason for that awful end in perdition is because these wrongful practitioners have wandered away from the Christian faith. Faithful and righteous people should stay away from fraud and dishonesty in the way they conducts their work and business. Unrighteous money practices must be avoided like the plague for it always brings ruin in the end. For Christians, all matters including business and money matters must be dealt in “godliness with contentment” (1 Timothy 6:6).
