Diligence

Diligence - a word many younger people are not familiar with. But the Bible uses it several times, and having diligence, or to be diligent, is a great virtue in our Christian walk. Let's look at a few verses to see how important it is to be diligent.

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. (Proverbs 10:4)

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. (Proverbs 12:24)

The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions.(Proverbs 12:27)

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. (Proverbs13:4)

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. (1 Timothy 4:15)

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. (Hebrews 6:11)

All these Scriptures show us that diligence, or to be diligent, leads to wealth, rule, posessions, satisfaction, profit, progress, and a sure hope.

So what exactly does it mean to be diligent? According to Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary, diligent means to show care and effort (in whatever one does); hard-working. And diligence means steady effort; careful hard work.

I picture in my mind someone who never gives up and who does the best he or she can no matter the task ahead.

Do you want the good qualities that are mentioned above? Then you have to be diligent about your Christian walk. (And by Christian walk, I mean your life as a Christian). Everything you do should be done with an earnest effort to do it the best way possible.

Another verse in a somewhat other context, shows us an even more important side of diligence. In 2 Peter 1:1-10 we see a list of "qualities" that should be a normal progression for a Christian person. The progression is thus:

Faith - virtue - knowledge - self-control - perseverance - godliness - brotherly kindness - love.

And then in verse 10 Peter says: Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble. (My emphases).

The way I read this is; if you want to never stumble, (and who doesn't?) you have to be diligent in pursuing the qualities above. That means that diligence and to be diligent in these matters, is not an option, but a must if we want to live a Christian life that is up to God's standards.

Is it hard? Yes! To live the Christian life is hard - if you do it in your own strength. Is it impossible? No! To live the Christian life is NOT hard if you live it in the power of Jesus Christ. Ask Him today to help you achieve these qualities, and be diligent about it!

What does it mean to choose life?

Deuteronomy 30:19 says, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

God recommends us to "choose life", and when He recommends something, it's a good idea to do what He says. But what exactly does it mean to choose life? How do I choose life and not death?

In The Believers Voice of Victory magazine Victory for July 2012 there is an interesting article about choosing life. And according to this article, there are two things we must do to choose life. First of all we must choose Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. That's pretty obvious, nobody would argue against that. The other thing we must do to choose life, is choosing our words. Yes, you read correctly, to choose life you need to choose the right words.

Why is choosing the right words so important? Because Proverbs 18:21 says that Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. That means that with my words I determine whether I want life or death to rule my life.

Terri Savelle Foy has said that your life goes in the direction of your most prominent thought. And where does thoughts come from? Words. Words form your thoughts. If your words are negative, destructive and evil, your life tends to go in a negative, destructive and evil direction. If you think that you don't amount to anything and you're a good-for-nothing individual, you are headed towards "nothingness". However, if you read in the Bible what God says about you and think about God's thoughts and say them, you're headed towards a bright future.

Today God has set before you and me life and death. And to be sure we choose the right option, God says: Choose life!