I always thought lazy people do not work hard! But then I read this saying from King Solomon (arguably the wisest king that has ever lived): The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor – Proverbs 12:24
As I digested it, I could not help but notice the following: It seems that diligent people end up telling people what to do, and lazy people are the one’s that end up doing the work. Moreover, the work that lazy people find themselves doing is not easy but it is laborious (hard).
As I thought about this some more, I came to realize that hard work and laziness are not mutually exclusive. I came to realize that the diligent man is the one who commits to do what he needs to do at the right time to be successful. Conversely, the lazy man is one who does not do what he needs to do at the right time but procrastinates. As a result, the lazy man ends up working harder than what he ever bargained for, and the one who was committed ends up living a life of royalty.
Lazy people end up working harder than the diligent over time
Therefore, we see that timing is important. This is how my mom put it me when I was growing up: If you work hard now, you won’t have to work as hard tomorrow. But if you don’t work hard now, you will have to work much harder than you’d like tomorrow.
If you want to rule in life, you have to seize today. Take an inventory of how you spend your time, energy, and resources. Do you spend your time daydreaming or do you spend it thinking of your dreams? Do you spend your energy people pleasing or do you spend your energy pursuing purpose? Do you spend your resources on frivolous pursuits or do you spend your money on assets that will dividend for your future? Only you know the honest answers to these questions.
Do the right things at the right time, and you will end up having more time to do what you feel is right
Now, consider that this concept is not simply true for finances, but true for every area of our lives. Any area in which you are lazy atrophies and dies, but the area in which you are diligent grows and thrives. Think about relationships. If you don’t work on your relationship today, you will have to work so much harder to save it tomorrow, or work so much harder for much longer at your job just to make the alimony payments. Think about health. If you don’t work on being healthy today, your health will work on your wallet and become a burden to other people tomorrow.
Therefore, sow the seed of diligence today. Do not slack off in any area of life. Seize today and be the very best you can be. Then you will find that life rewards you instead of ripping you off.
Exercise: Think of an area of your life where you know you have slacked off. What are the joys waiting for you tomorrow if you committed yourself to strengthening that area today? Write down what you will do different starting right now. Then like Nike, Just Do It!
If you don’t rule your life today, life will rule you tomorrow
SuperChamp 