THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON · Day 8 of 14
Wisdom at Work
1 · READ THE TEXT
Proverbs 6:6-11 & Ecclesiastes 9:10
Proverbs 6:6-11
Open in the reader →6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Open in the reader →10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
2 · UNDERSTAND
The ant is presented as a teacher because it works "without chief, officer or ruler": it needs no supervision to do what must be done. Proverbs is not criticising rest but procrastination disguised as "a little more sleep", consuming a life in instalments. On the other side, Ecclesiastes commands: "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might". In the Bible, the dignity of work does not depend on the prestige of the role. Work done well is a form of worship — including the work nobody sees.
3 · REFLECT AND ANSWER
Read the text again and answer calmly. Your answers are kept only in this browser.
- 1.What does this text reveal about who God is?
- 2.What does it show about people — and about you?
- 3.What will you do differently today because of it?
4 · LIVE AND PRAY
Practical application
Choose the task you have been avoiding the longest and do only that one, start to finish, before anything else today.
Lesson prayer
God, bless the work of my hands. Free me from the laziness that justifies itself and from the excess that steals me from the people I love. Amen.
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