“The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.”
Matthew Poole puts it this way: “for his own use and benefit. The scope of the proverb is to commend and press diligence in a man’s calling, and to condemn idleness.” I like that. There is an innate or better yet, God built desire in each of us to work diligently in our calling to supply our needs. No one, contrary to what we may see sometimes in society, wants to just have their needs met by others charity. One of the great lessons of the great depression was that people wanted jobs. They were not satisfied with handouts and food lines. Not just because it was demeaning, but more so because it was not how we are created. I have said before and I’m sure I will say it again, Dr. Billy Graham believed strongly that we would have jobs in heaven. That being created in the image of God includes a desire to work and produce and be productive. In heaven, no one will get up hating their job or longing to not have to work. I confess there are days where the idea of retirement seems particularly appealing. Thankfully, those aren’t often, most of the time I can hardly go to sleep the night before because of the excitement for what I get to do the next day. Solomon talks about the hunger that makes our appetites create being useful and driving us to work diligently at our calling. We know from scripture that that is the simplest truth of this reality. We are driven by desire to take care of our needs and the needs of those we love but, we are driven even more deeply by the calling, God placed deep in our soul that we were uniquely created to fill. Today pursue you calling with all diligence. #BeTheEdge
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” Colossians 3:23 NIV