In All Labor There is Profit

Proverbs 14:23 says,"In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury." We live in a society today that doesn't like the thought of having to work. We live in a lazy generation. People today aren't motivated when it comes to getting off their stool of do-nothing and work. The Bible says that if we don't labor, then we will be in poverty. That's what the scripture in Proverbs says. Some people like to sit around and socialize but never accomplish anything much. There is a place and time for socializing. However, there's also a time when we need to be busy fulfilling the call that God has given us in our lives. If a person will labor diligently regardless of their calling or the setting in which they might be in, they will profit from it. I know of people who have been diligent in their labors and they have profited mightily from it.

When one sees or hears the word "profit" we tend to think of it in terms of financial gain or benefit. That is one aspect of profit. However, you cannot limit the profit that you receive from labor solely in financial terms. It's broader than that. There have been people that have profited greatly from a hard day's labor, but they didn't become wealthy as a result. But the joy that's inside of them is immeasurable. Why? Because they understood the principle of labor. They recognized in order to succeed, you must put your hand to the plow and do it with all your might. The Bible says we are to accomplish whatever we place our hands on with all our might. If you're going to start something, then continue that work until its completion. We shouldn't start something and not complete it. Many of us including myself have been guilty of starting tasks and not completing them to their entirety. However, the profit comes from that labor when we start something and be faithful with it until it's completed. That's when we profit from it. You won't profit from your labors if you don't complete what you started.

There are different forms of profit that result from diligent labor. One of them is financial or monetary gain. Another form is a sense of satisfaction due to success. Success is also a form of profit when you complete the task and are accurate with it. One form of profit that came to my mind this week was opportunities that become available as a result of your faithfulness in your calling. New opportunities will spring forth to serve in areas that are unimaginable simply because you were faithful to labor in your vocation. Also, you can profit from labor in other settings besides the workplace. The place where you labor can be in a number of settings such as school or university, church, an organization, to name a few. There have been people that have started a particular endeavor and as a result of their labors there were new doors of opportunities that awaited them. They had the opportunity to serve in areas they couldn't even imagine. I think of the late Gospel singer and songwriter Dottie Rambo. She started out singing in local churches and writing music. She wasn't very famous at first. But as a result of her diligence, she was noticed by the governor of Louisiana at the time Jimmie Davis. He helped her in her rise to stardom in the Gospel music industry. She got to participate in areas she wouldn't have dreamed of when she was a teenager or in her twenties. Due to her diligence, new opportunities awaited her that gave her the opportunity to use her gift in other areas.

There's a young man in my church that comes to my mind when it comes to new doors of opportunities springing up for him. His name is Dr. Aaron Wells. (I refer to him as Dr.) He's in his second year in college at the University of Louisville. Since he's started college, new doors of opportunity have opened up for him at the university. He participated in a work study program and he works in student affairs. This past summer he worked on campus full-time in the Department of Student Affairs. He has an opportunity of a possible internship in Frankfort, Kentucky working at the state legislature. I'm certain there will be more doors of opportunity for him there in the future. At the church we attend, he is a former Bible quiz student. He excelled in Bible quizzing. He now helps assist in Bible quizzing at the church and even attends some Bible quiz competitions. He exemplifies what Proverbs 14:23 says when it says there is profit in labor.

Proverbs 14:23 applies to both saved and lost people alike. There have been many businessmen that are an exemplification of that verse. They started out small with an old buiding and not much capital. But later their business grew and as a result of their labors new doors of opportunity have opened up for them. They are now very successful in their corporation. They are people such as Bill Gates, the late Dave Thomas, Warren Buffet, and others. God says that if we will labor diligently, there will be profit that results from it.