Does God Call Us to Be Hard Workers?: Proverbs 21:1-31

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a

couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in

practical ways. Hey, everybody, good morning. This is Chris and

Jeff coming to you from the Bible Guys podcast Studio

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anybody even know where it is?

Uh? Yeah, well do you want huge lines of fans

just surrounding the place every day when we come in? Stop?

Stop? Where the where are the sunglasses? Put a coat

over my head? Maybe we shouldn't tell them where it is.

It's so a good friend of ours own's a studio

that specializes in podcast stuff.

Who is a part of heritage. There's a great volunteer

and a good friend.

That's right, That's right.

We'll leave it at that. Okay, all right, because you

know I don't want.

The pop rots so difficult? Yeah, all right, too soon?

Too soon?

It's from the what eighties? All right? Nineties? So uh,

Desiree has created a segment on Friday to do Who's

most Likely? So we're going to read five questions and

then you and I get to vote, and we're going

to do it instinctively, and we're going to agree or disagree.

Who's most likely to do these things? You ready?

Yes, sir?

Your first one?

Who's most likely to pretend they don't know how to

shovel snow so someone else has to do it? Pretty sure?

That's me? Yeah, that's yeah?

Is that you?

Okay?

Oh?

My arms don't work. My hands don't work.

Don't work. I wasn't going to pretend to know if

that was you or not. But I will go on

the record and say it's definitely not me doing during.

A snowstorm, do you go out multiple times to clear

the sidewalk?

It depends. If it's a heavy, wet snow, absolutely I

have to right otherwise it's gonna you're gonna be You're

gonna be in trouble if you don't, so so yeah,

I'll definitely do that if it's a If it's a

like a wet snow, because.

There's the I have a neighbor who's like so excited

every time snowfalls. He's out three or four times, you know,

shoveling and snow blow.

If it's a if it's a really soft, fluffy snow,

absolutely I will not do it. There's no way it's

not enjoyable. It's it's a dread okay, but I'm gonna

do it if it's heavy, because if you don't, the

bottom will melt, it'll become ice. And then all of

a sudden you have to, you know, you shovel, and

then you know why snowblow? Right, I guess it's no

big snowblow. But then then you're you know, you're on

like a bunch of ice. Yeah, and I hate when

it's not down to the cement.

Okay, number two two turn yep.

Who's most likely to send a Christmas card to themselves

just to get that perfect photo?

What it's most likely to send a Christmas.

Card to themselves just to get the perfect photo? Why

are they mixing? Why is she mixing photo with a card?

I don't know?

Is she meaning like a chrisp photo card? Okay, I

refuse to entertain this question.

Okay, pass pass. Yeah, we never do Christmas photos. So yeah,

you guys do Christmas well, you do it like Christmas

pajama photos and.

Oh for sure social media? Sure yeah yeah yeah, but

you know what, I think what she's referring to is

the traditional like Christmas photo that's like like, that's sort

of like a it's either becomes a card or it

gets inserted in a Christmas letter.

Yeah. Yeah.

Do you have friends who do Christmas letters?

Yeah? I have a missionary friend that does.

Yeah, and uh and do you read them?

Yes? Yeah, and they'll have a photo.

Has your family ever done a Christmas letter update?

No?

My wife did it for years, for like ten years.

Wow.

Like, here's what's been going on for the zarbas in

twenty twenty four, and then Tory left at Christmas head joke,

right right, right right, Okay, it's just like an update

kind of thing. But I was glad to day that

she stopped that.

That's good. Okay, so we're going to move on from

that one.

Ye.

Who's most likely to pretend they're a snowplow and drive

around making snow drifts for fun?

I think that's both of us?

Probably yeah, but I'm gonna say me, okay, I think

probably you two.

Okay, pretend there's a snowplow and drive around making snow

drifts for fun. Yeah, okay, I'm gonna see me.

Okay, all right.

Number four, who's most likely to get tangled in Christmas

lights while trying to decorate the house?

I've actually done it, yeah, and almost fell off the roof.

Is that true?

I did. I got my feet tangled up in the

so I had I had a coil of them, yes,

and then I have a right now. The house we're

in is a tri level, yes. And so I was

on the lower roof and I was putting on the

top roof and I stretched across like this, and I

went to turn and I was tangled in the coil

below me, and it just about went over the roof.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Did you know the last three years in a row,

I get a company to decorate my house?

Yes, I know that, did you?

How do you know that?

Yeah? Because you brag about it every.

Do I really?

Yeah? Yeah, we all know who it is at work.

Yeah.

Yeah, Well I got to tell you something and then

you don't have to pay for it because you just

have to brag about it.

Oh yeah, that's right. That's right. Well I wasn't going

to say any of that. Here's what I was going

to say, is like three years ago, I was on

the peak peak of my house, like the peak peak, right,

and and I almost slipped off. And I didn't really

almost slip off. I had I slip like a foot.

Oh yeah, but in that foot, I thought I was

going to die.

Yeah. My son is a he delivers he's a crane

operator and he delivers roofing and siding for a big company.

So he's on roofs all day, every day, delivering stuff.

And he fell off a roof a couple of weeks

ago and dislocated his shoulder. And uh, I'm like, ding dong,

that's a dangerous thing, you know. Yeah, And when I

call him ding dong, it's only with the fondest sure

love kindness, ding dong love. Yeah. Yeah, And he went

back to work next day. This guy is so tough.

I mean, these guys that that do that kind of

outdoor work, they're so tough. And he's like, nah, I'm fine,

I'm fine. It's just a little bruise. I'm like, yeah,

except you're kind of walking crooked and your shoulders out

of a joint.

But yeah, crazy, I have to say, I am the

most thankful. Uh. The joy, the amount of joy that

comes knowing that I don't have to get on the

roof is unbelievable.

No, I know the answer to this next one. Okay,

who's most likely to go ice skating but end up

clinging to the wall the whole.

Time that it would definitely be you, that's me. Yeah, yes,

you're not an ice skater.

Well, I'm not an ice skater. I'm not a tap dancer.

I'm not right. You've got all those Wait a minute,

did you just I'm more of a football player.

You just put ice skating in the realm of a

feminine thing.

Have you ever watched the Olympics?

Have you ever? Have you ever watched hockey?

Sure? Sure, I don't know that that's what I was

envisioning in this moment.

Dude, are you kidding? Be Ice skating has now become

like it's not what it was when we were growing up.

Ice skating we were growing up was topiic. But guys

don't wear the topicks anymore. They wear the ice.

The hockey sequence, whether they wear the sequence and the

like the flowing arm stuff. Yeah, I get it, man,

I know, I totally get it. Hey, I've seen hockey.

I'm a big hockey fan.

You're going to get in trouble with anybody who goes

ice skating because they love the ice.

Hockey players don't go ice skating. They put on skates

for the sake of my son driving somebody into the

son used to go.

Ice skating all the time with his friends.

I am not saying anything about your officer.

He was and he was worrying.

I'm not speaking negatively about your offspring. And anyway, I

was just saying, I can envision you personal. Do you

see the office skating and spinning around the office and

me hanging under the wall.

Michael all I said, Michael Scott is a phenomenal hockey

skater and goes ice skating.

Excellent, excellent, all right, skating on the ice and ice

skating are two different things. I'm just the fay players

will defend that art.

I'm defending the sport of ice skating because you.

Just fine, you made a feminine I did not. I

did not. I just said tap dancing and ice skating

are your thing. That's how I said. That's the only

thing I said. And you're trying to make it something

I didn't say, and I I am not. I said,

with it, who's who's most likely to try to go

ice skating but end up cleaning the walk? And I

said that was me.

Proverbs just talking about me. Yeah, And you said in

the negative thing. I don't want to be a part of.

That feminine No, that is not what I said, football.

Player, I did not say that, Yes you did.

I didn't.

You literally did.

I didn't say I didn't want to be a part

of that sport. You literally I just said I can

see you ice skating. Okay, all right, we didn't move

on and tap dancing, and I'm twenty one. The king's

heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord. Really,

he guides it wherever he pleased. People may be right

in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. Chris,

It literally says it right there. Hey, the Lord knows

my heart.

Hey, Jeff, I thought that your observation about hockey was

a little harsh. And we're about to enter into Proverbs

twenty one, and there are some pretty harsh truths that

Solomon includes.

Yeah, but I know my heart and so does the Lord. Oh,

so go ahead. The king's heart is like a stream

of water, directed by the Lord. He guides it wherever

he pleases. He does the Lord. People may be right

in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.

So the Lord knows. Yes, the Lord knows that you

were telling lies. The Lord is more pleased when we

do what is right and just than when we offer

him sacrifices. Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions

are all sin. Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity,

but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Wealth created by a

lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.

The violence of the wicked and sweeps them away because

they refuse to do what is just. The guilty walk

of crooked path the innocent travelers straight road. It's better

to live alone in the corner of an attic than

with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. I have

no idea what that means.

That's so funny.

Evil people desire evil. Their neighbors get no mercy from them.

If you punish a mocker, the simple minded become wise.

If you instruct the wise, they'll be all the wiser.

We already read a verse very similar to that, Remember

we did. The righteous one knows what is going on

in the homes of the wicked, and he will bring

disaster on them. Those who shut their ears to the

cries of the poor will be ignored in their own

time of need. Wow, a secret gift, calms anger. A

bribe under the table pacifies fury. Justice is a joy

to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers. The person who

strays from common sense will end up in the company

of the dead. Those who love pleasure become poor, those

who love wine and luxury will never be rich. The

wicked are punished in place of the godly, and traders

in place of the honest. It's better to live alone

in the desert than with a coarrelsome complaining wife. Once again,

I have no idea what that means.

What does that even mean?

I have no idea. The wis have wealth and luxury,

but fools spend whatever they get. Whoever pursues righteousness and

unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. The wise

conquer the city of the strong and level the fortress

in which they trust. Watch your tongue and keep your

mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble. I

kind of wish that's how I'd started this segment today.

I washed my mouth and kept my mouth shut.

Right, as opposed to making fun of all the hockey

players of the world.

I didn't do that, you did. I didn't mockers are

proud and haughty, and they act boundless with boundless arrogance

despite their desires. The lazy will come to ruin for

their hands refuse to work. Some people are always greedy

for more, but the godly love to give of an

evil person is detestable, especially when it's offered with wrong motives.

A false witness will be cut off, but a credible

witness will be allowed to speak. The wicked bluff their

way through, but the virtuous think before they act. No

human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord.

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but

the victory belongs to the Lord. I love that. There

you go.

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but

the victory belongs to the Lord. Yep, that's great. I

don't know why I'm struggling so much today with my throat,

but I certainly am.

Are you.

Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in here, And

you know again, Solomon talks a lot about, you know,

wickedness and foolishness and everything else, but there's some things

that jump off the page. I like verse over twelve

because it says the righteous one and it's capital R

and capital. Oh yeah, the righteous one knows what is

going on in the homes of the wicked. He would

bring disaster on them. You know, isn't it Isn't it great?

How if you know the Bible, you always make a

comment and say the Bible is its own best commentary.

That's right.

So there are other verses that pop into your mind,

right the Canglatians where it says, don't be deceived. God

is not mocked. What server mansus, He's going to reap.

You know that God sees all things. What you're going

to you know, you know, what goes around comes around. Right.

You roll a stone, it's going to roll back on you.

If you dig a pit, you're going to fall in it. Right.

There's just this, you know, there's all these verses that

seem to come together with some of the same principles,

and it's just great to be reminded that God sees

all things.

Yeah, you know, so with that soap strategy that we

were talking about, you know, so scripture we already did that,

and then the next one is observation. And one of

those one of the things we're looking for is what's

to say about God? What does it say about people?

What is it? You know what jumped off the page,

And so we've already acknowledged that the proverb are really

all about every day living. So what it says about

people every verse is that. But there's several and you've

already referenced one there that you know, the Lord, you know,

the righteous one right knows what's going on in the

homes of the wicked. He's so really that's saying God's

paying attention to everybody and everything. The first three verses

here all mentioned the Lord, which is interesting because you know,

we we've mentioned before that many of the proverbs he's

not mentioning God, he's just talking about every day living.

But here the first verse says, the king's heart is

like a stream of water directed by the Lord. God

guides it wherever he pleases, right, right, so God can

redirect there's a flow to the king, but God's the

one that's directing that flow. The next one, people may

be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines

their heart. He's looking at the heart. Right, It's amazing.

All of these phrases are talking about how God pays

attention to the heart. Then the last one, verse three

the Lord is more pleased when we do what is

right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. So again,

God's looking for right behavior and right hearts more than

religious ritual right.

And uh, you know again I'm talking about cross referencing.

That reminds me what verses that remind you of? Is

there any verse that sticks out where he says the

Lord is more pleased, Uh, when we do what is

justin right.

Where we offer you. It reminds me when Samuel confronted

Saul right and said obedience is better than sacrifice.

Yes, that's one of them. There's another one, and that

is when David commits sin in front of Betesheba or

not in front of heart with yeah, yeah, yeah yeah,

and he says he says, uh, what is he saying?

He says, uh, you'd rather have a broken contrite heart than.

Yeah, these things and spies, right yeah. So so so

God doesn't want my sacrifices as much as God wants

my heart.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, that's what That's basically what it means.

So when when you're asking these questions, what is this

passage to say about God? That's the first question you're

asking in the observation side, there's tons of practical advice.

But what you see here is these three versus and

then the other one all reference the fact that God's

paying attention to how we live, what we do right,

obedience and heart. Those are the two things that we

learn about God. Everything else is what we learn about humanity.

You know, hey, bribes, he's not advising bribes. He's just

saying that bribes oftentimes and get you out of trouble, right,

stuff like that. So that's that's not a moral statement

saying do it or don't do it. It's just saying

this is a truth, right, as opposed to when you

get into what does it say about God? That's a

big you know, It's why we always ask that one first.

Whenever you read a passage, does it say about God?

Deal with that? Then move on. Yeah.

Verse four has that word you think is harsh haughty eyes?

Haughty eyes?

Remember I said it was harsh. Yep, there is haughty eyes,

a proud heart and evil actions or else sin.

So you know, you ever see, just like a really

prideful person, you don't even have to say anything or

hear them say any words, right, just the way they

look and act is So that's that's what the Bible

was saying. There, God doesn't even so the prideful heart

thing is is you know, that's a secret thing. But

then the person who overtly is flamboyant about their pride

and self centeredness and their narcissism. So that's a different

thing than the internal. That's the external, right, And God says,

what's on the outside and the inside when it comes

to prideful people, it's kind of gross. Yeah.

Yeah, I love how he says, if you instruct the wise,

they'll be all the wiser. But but before that, he says,

if you punish the mocker, the simple mind had become wise. Yeah,

and so there's there's uh.

That has come up a couple of times.

Yeah. Yeah, well, I mean you already sort of reference.

Yeah, you know, when when you.

Punish somebody publicly, then then the rest of the people

will then know that's really what he's saying.

Most of the time you don't do that, right, but

it's it's this, it's it's when you're aware of the

fact that the simple mind that they're watching right, right,

then that's when you, yeah, do that.

Yeah, that's great. Those who love pleasure, become poor. Those

who love wine and luxury will never be rich. Oh

that's not the one I was thinking of.

If I was going to comment on that one, that

was the one that said.

The foolish spend everything. Oh, it's two verses later. The

wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.

And it's interesting how you would think that one equals

the other. If full spend whatever they get, you would think, okay,

well fool spends, meaning that they would then have luxury. Right,

But it's not what he's saying. He's talking about good

healthy planning. He's talking about you know, investments, he's talking

about not lending to you know, being a borrower versus

being a lender.

Right, all those things. It's expensive to be poor, Yes,

when you have to borrow and borrow and borrow, you

pay interest, and you're making somebody else right, right, But

when you finally, if you're wise and you begin to

build wealth and you move slowly and you're not in

a hurry, and you don't have to drive off the

parking lot with a brand new car, and you don't

have to have a bigger house, and you don't have

to fill it with the fancies furniture. Then you don't

have to pay interest. You just you do it as

you go along. And then next thing, you know, a

few years later. It's not a sudden right, but a

few years later, suddenly you start having wealth because you're

not making somebody else rich, you're saving up your own money.

And then you're just paying whatever the standard going price is,

not interest on things. And then that extra you know,

five percent, builds up over time and then you're saving

which then means you're gaining interest instead of paying interest.

And so gross I had one of the wisest men

I've ever known in business, and I mentioned him before.

He was a pipefitter. His dad was a circuit riding

preacher in East Texas back in the early nineteen hundreds,

and so he was an old man and very wealthy.

But he was a pipefitter. And it turned out he

and his wife had made a commitment to God that

they would never go in debt for personal reasons, only

to make money. So they would go in debt to

buy a business, but they wouldn't go into debt to

buy furniture, right, And so when they got married, literally

he showed me a picture one day he keeps it,

used to keep it in his office at one of

their insurance companies they owned, and it was a picture

of them at their first it was either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

And they had made all of their furniture from Orange crates.

Wow.

Right. And now at this point they owned a couple

of insurance places, he owned a couple of use storage

store at places. He owned a small engine repair and

equipment rental company, and he kept his job as a pipefitter.

And he'd never managed any personal debt, only had debts

to be able to buy companies. And the dude was

printing money. And that's what I read there, right, And

so they had extreme luxury. And he's one of the

most generous people I've ever known. And it's because they

lived a simple life. They weren't quick to get rich,

they weren't trying to always show off their wealth. They

were willing to move slowly on it, and they made

wise decisions. And he told me that his dad taught

he when he was a kid, give God ten, save

twenty live on seventy.

Oh wow, so instead ten ten eighty, it's ten twenty eighty.

H Yeah, And he was rich or ten, twenty seventy

or excuse me, yeah, ten, he said, So it's hard

when you're young, import it's hard to live on seventy percent.

He said, it's really easy to be rich, right right,

And he said that's how I got there. By my

mid thirties, I was way ahead of all my friends.

So you have just unpacked what Dave Ramsey means when

he says that one catchphrase that he always says, he says,

live like no one else, so that one day you

can live like no.

One else, right right, That's exactly what they did. Bob

Hinton was his name. He's in heaven now, but one

of the godliest men I've ever known, one of the

most generous people I've ever known, one of the smartest

people I've ever known, never went to college, died a

wealthy man, godly man, person of integrity, and he passed

it on to everybody.

Though I was going to say he lived, he gave

an inheritance to his children's children.

Absolutely, Yeah, yeah, know that. And that's what I read there,

right that that, well, the wise have wealth and luxury,

but fools spend whatever they get.

Yeah, that's great.

Is At the time I was spending about one hundred

and one percent of what I was making right, right,

and he sent me down. He Sai, Jeff, you're always

going to chase your tail. It's hard being poor, it's

hard not being poor. You know, money is hard. But

when you're paying interest, you're making somebody else rich. When

you start paying yourself interest, you're making yourself rich. Yeah,

so take the time, pay the price now so that

you're you don't live a poor life.

Hey, one more thing we can we can unpack this

a little bit. How much wisdom is wrapped up in

verse number thirty one a lot. It says the horse

is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory

belongs to the lord, So the horse is prepared for

the day of battle. Do you read that as God

is saying, do what you can do? Do one hundred

and ten percent. Yes, prepare, apply your wisdom, apply your experience.

You know God has given you all sorts of things,

so don't be lazy. Do everything that you can do

in your own effort to prepare wisely, and then understand

that if you're successful, if if if things happen, they

go your way. It is God that works.

One hundred percent you know. So let's take it back

to the money thing. You should work hard. He says,

this hard work produced as wealth, right.

And he talks about against laziness.

Yeah, yeah, so you should work hard. You should develop

your skills. You should plow it like we talked about

the other day. Plow the field now and get ready,

develop the skills that you're going to need for the future.

All those kinds of things. You should invest well, you

should avoid debt, you should do all these things. But

when you have that house, and when you have that

comfort and the luxury and all the things that you

were building towards, God gave you all of those opportunities God, right,

as opposed to, Oh God, just please make me rich

and make my life more comfortable. God's like, what have

you been doing? Right? So, instead, what I believe God

does when when when we're praying those kind of prayers

of help us get ahead, God opens up opportunities. Hey,

I'm going to give an opportunity for a side hustle.

I'm going to give you an opportunity for another stream

of income. I'm going to give you an opportunity maybe

to manage your wealth in a way that you're able

to eliminate debt and then start being able to prepare

for the future. And I'm going to give you opportunities

to invest so that you have, you know, when you're younger,

so that you're ready when you're older. I gave you

all these opportunities. And then when you finally have that success,

you prepared the horse for battle. But then you sit

back and look at the victory and go, Man, if

God hadn't opened up all these doors, if God hadn't

shown me this path, I could have never won this

battle right now. And so you do what you can do,

and God does what he can do, right right, God

does what only he can do at that point, right. Yeah.

And and I just had lunch with a guy yesterday

who was very successful, is very successful, has this business,

and you know, he's got a ton of money, and

and and he says, this company, you know, he named

his company. He said, that is not me. That is God,

he said, he said, that is God.

That's a godly man, recognizing, yes, I did the best

I could, right, but God did far more than I

could have dreamed.

Yeah, yeah, And so the victory belongs to the Lord.

There's there's something to be said.

For verse five in connection with that last with verse

thirty one. Verse five says good planning and hard work

lead to prosperity. And then you can read on the

horses prepared for the day of battle, right right, but

the victory belongs to the Lord. Yeah, and that's what

a god a man and.

He's and he again he talks against laziness too. He

took with plowing the fields. But also in verse twenty six,

despite their evil desires, the lazy will come to ruin

for their hands refused to work. So yeah, there's definitely

you know, the diligence, the do what you can do,

the uh, you know, don't be lazy and work hard

and do it the right way and then understand that

then God will bless you.

So that's that's great. Man. I love I love the

wisdom of Solomon. It's everyday practical wisdom.

Well, hopefully you've enjoyed this whole week, if you've been

following along every day. I think we have still more

to cover in Proverbs because there's so much there. So

hopefully we will see you next time on the Bible.

Guys, h