Rich Man, Poor Man

In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.  -Proverbs 14:23

I came upon this verse at the end of a chapter in a book on marriage I was reading last week and immediately thought ” this is probably where the expression talk is cheap comes from.” While that is a distinct possibility, to just look at things from that perspective is terribly limiting. It was when I mentioned this verse to my wife that I found this new layer of meaning. Well to be fair, I didn’t find anything. My wife is far more versed in Bible study pointed out that “poverty” isn’t just lack of gain, but can imply moving backward. I never would have seen that, and am very thankful that my wife pointed that shade of meaning out to me.

So with that in mind, let’s just assume that I like to talk. A lot. To make matters worse, my obsessive nature makes sure that I’ve never met a dead horse that I didn’t want to beat.

Repeatedly.

Needless to say, this drives my wife insane. She calls it rehash. While on one hand that label aggravates me, I can completely understand where she is coming from. I don’t even like hash the first time around, let alone the second, third or fourth time around. Heck, I don’t even like re-fried beans. But I digress. 

This is another scripture that focuses me inward, making me examine my own behavior and the clock work of my mind. And once again, I find a distortion of the image of God.  God is decisive, he allowed men free will, and once we made a mess of things, did he say “Well, that didn’t go well, let’s hit the restart button on that.” No he stuck to the grand design and provided a way for our redemption. God is wise, he gives matters due consideration, but he doesn’t dwell on things, he acts on things. Take the unlawfulness of Noah’s time. Did God sit back and ponder a course of action for ages? No, he provided for those who would listen to his commandments, had Noah build the ark and proceeded to sweep those who would ruin the earth away with 40 days of rain. The coming end times could be likened to that story as well.

So if I am to try and be more like the creator, I need to learn to act more than I talk. The scripture is right, mere talk is empty and broken promises and good intentions don’t add up to anything but a hole that it is all too easy to dig, but much harder to fill.

So it’s time to get to the labor. I think the choice of the word labor is no mistake. Being decisive and making choices and sticking to them isn’t an easy thing. Especially when there are all those dead horses lying around.

But as they say, silence is golden. Gold is the color of money, and I’m ready to see about the profit Proverbs is talking about.

I’ve seen enough of the poverty.