Proverbs 12:27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession.
Deer hunting season is here in Michigan. The bow hunters, youth and special needs hunters are already in the field. In another month the masses of firearms hunters will be eager to seek game for sport and meat for their families. The majority of hunters are great sportsmen, and value the results of their hunt.
Diligent hunters have been watching wildlife trails in the woods all year to see where the deer frequent pass. Others have planted desirable crops in patches near the woods to attract deer. Some have placed nutritious mineral blocks for the deer to lick and grow healthy and strong.
However, a few will dust off their shotguns and hike out uninvited to the neighbor’s woods on opening day with no plan or preparation at all. A few of those will get lucky and harvest a trophy buck without any great effort. A few of those will hack off the antlers and leave the carcass lay to rot. I think hunters who do take these shortcuts derive little satisfaction in doing so.
No hunter who works carefully and diligently through the year to ensure the greatest possibility of success would let his game go to waste. He has worked for it. It is precious to him. It is valuable, because he knows the effort required to gain the substance he hunted for.
Just as diligent hunters prize their success, so do disabled tradesmen value their employment. They know it takes constant focus and effort to maintain a job. It takes full time effort and commitment to get up and go to work, even if it is a part time job.
It may require all your effort to accomplish 1/10 of what you did before, but if you’re working to your potential, count that 1/10th as 100% precious! That 100% effort is valuable to you. It is valuable to your family. It is valuable to society. It is valuable to your Creator, God. He knows and understands your struggle. He may not take away your disability, but He will never leave your side as you go through it, and He does expect you to work to your potential!
Without work, there is the danger of laziness taking hold. There is the danger of taking for granted the things we have. There is the danger of wasting what we are given. Work – whatever it is, however much we are able to do – is the antidote to laziness and wastefulness. There is no satisfactionz in staying home and letting others do all the work. Work gives us the gift of satisfaction!
Go hunt diligently for work, do it to your full capacity, and savor the delicious taste of the successful hunt.