What Proverbs Says About Work

Sunday Morning | August 11, 2025 | John C. Majors | Louisville, KY

The sermon “What Proverbs Says About Work” emphasizes that work is part of God’s original design, given before the Fall as a means to steward creation, be fruitful, and serve others. While sin brought difficulty, frustration, and toil into our labor, Scripture calls believers to approach work with diligence, skill, and integrity. Proverbs warns that laziness leads to poverty, bondage, and emptiness, while diligence brings provision, influence, and fulfillment. The sluggard avoids effort, makes excuses, and refuses to start or finish tasks, but the diligent plan wisely, persevere, and honor God through their labor. Ultimately, our work is an opportunity to serve like Christ—who came not to be served but to serve—and to let living water flow from our lives into the world.

You can join us on Sunday mornings at 11 AM for worship. We are located at 8911 3rd Street Road, Louisville KY 40272.

Transcript

0:07

Thank you. Thank you, Worship team, for leading us, preparing our hearts to receive God's Word. We've been in the book of Proverbs, and we come to the Book of Proverbs seeking ancient wisdom for a modern time. And I don't know where else you're going to find wisdom in this day and age, apart from God's Word. There's a lot of people who proclaim to have wisdom. And of course, there's common grace. God bestows common grace on all people, and there are sources of wisdom. But if you want true wisdom, we've got to seek it out in God's Word and find it there. And so that's what we're attempting to do as we study the Book of Proverbs. Just a few more weeks left, and we've been going through this middle section of Proverbs, looking at it a topic at a time. And this week we'll be looking at the topic of work. What can we learn from the book of Proverbs about our work, about how we apply God's Word to the way we approach work? I've mentioned a few times that we served as missionaries in the South Pacific, and one of the things we got to do while we were serving there was take a trip over to Australia for some training for a conference is just a three hour flight. And of course, while we were there we took in some of the sights of Australia. We went to the Australian Zoo, which I have an image of our time there together. That was the place started by. You remember Steve Irwin? He was the crocodile hunter god kind of crazy guy. Well, they started their own zoo there. The family runs it now. And while you're there, we got to see some of the, you know, local Australian animals we got. I don't know if a meerkat is, unique to Australia or not, but we saw those. We saw the kangaroo got to feed the kangaroos and we didn't get pictures of us with them, but of course, they had the koalas and the sloths are ones they're well known for. And of course, those are cute. They're in in the, zoo. What's interesting about those animals is how slow they are. The koala and the sloth both. They barely move because the food that they eat doesn't give them any nutrients, so they barely move. I don't know why they don't choose a different food. So that they can move more. But some of you are like, I had those donuts too. I know what you're talking about. I'm kind of feeling that they're really cute at the zoo. But here's one place you don't want to see the sloth. I don't know if any of you have seen this image, right? The DMV. Sorry, Evan. Don't take that personally. Evan Rice worked at the DMV. I love our local DMV workers, by the way. Very grateful for you. If I'm ever in there, please know that I value you highly. But that's not where you want to see a sloth working, because you want the people working in a job and a place where you go. You can take the image down now. You want them to be good at their job. You want them to be productive, efficient. You want them to think about the customer. You have direct contrast between the diligent and the not diligent, the diligent and the slothful, the diligent and the sluggard, the diligent and the lazy. We're going to look at those four contrast. But first, before doing that, I want to take a step back and just look at how work begins in the Bible. That's a good starting place, because I think sometimes in our lives we have differing perspectives on work. We have differing views on what work is about or should be about. But how did it all begin? If you look in the book of Genesis and we have these verses listed in the notes handout, if you didn't get one of those, slip your hand out. Maybe we'll be able to get one to you now. But the way work began is really interesting. If you go back to the book of Genesis, in fact, there's a Bible teacher, Robert Lewis. He was a pastor. He did a lot of writing for men. And he said that when God put Adam in the garden, he gave him three things to do. He gave them. He gave him a will to obey, a woman to love, and a work to do. He put the man in the garden, gave him a will to obey, follow God's law, a woman to love someone, to share a life with, and then a work to do. In fact, they were given the work to do together. If you look here in your notes

Genesis 1: 4:37

28, part of the command to them was to be fruitful, which requires them to work together toward that end, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion rule over the earth. Care for the earth. In chapter two, God took man, put him in the garden to work it and keep it. You know, part of his creative design is that people on this earth would have a role in caring for the earth and taking the shape of what is produced on the earth. And this was before the fall. This was all good work given at the beginning. All of it was a very good thing. Look at chapter two, verse 20. The man part of his work was to give names to all the livestock and the birds, and every beast of the field. So there was a variety of work given in the garden. Work was given good. But then here's what happened. The fall came. Adam and Eve rejected God's rule in their life and as a result, if you look in chapter three verses and we could go through that whole section, but just some of the key phrases that relate to what happened with work. Cursed is the ground. The ground became cursed at this point in pain, thorns and thistles, by the sweat of your brow. will your work be associated. Your work now will have added challenges. It won't be as easy as it was to get the results that you want, and so work was given as a good thing. Something for us to take part in. Something that we could help be a part of, contributing to the world. And yet now, because of sin, there are challenges to our work. That doesn't mean it's bad. And anybody who's worked any job has experience this. Even as hard as you're trying to do something good, challenges come up that seem to want to keep you from accomplishing anything good, and you've got to work through those. You've got to press into that, you've got to move forward. There's a couple of interesting things I think that happen as a result of this, because the tendency would be to think that because now that there are challenges with work, work must all be bad. But there I think there are two, I want to say positives that come out of that. Maybe that's not the best word. Two results that I think strengthen us by the fact that work has challenges. Work is harder. One is appreciation. I tend to appreciate things that I have worked for versus things that I haven't. Every parent can attest to this. In fact, the kids who are least appreciative are the ones who have the most given to them. It isn't that crazy, by the way. Shouldn't it be the other way? The more I'm given, the more grateful I would be, but it's almost always the opposite because you don't. Really. And by the way, I'm guilty. I don't appreciate I didn't appreciate all my parents had done for me. I probably still don't fully appreciate all that they've done for me. They don't need to comment right now about that. By the way. They're you're but you you understand if you haven't struggled for it, you don't quite understand what all went into it. There's not the same level of appreciation, I can guarantee you. I treated the first car I bought, that 78 Malibu lowrider and half primer paint, kind of this whole hodgepodge of components all over it. I treated it with such care because I knew how much hard work it took at $3.35 an hour to save up the $800 to pay for it, which seemed like a gargantuan fortune. Whereas my buddy down the road, his parents gave him a brand new car, and in two years it was trashed there. You know, there was a whole car, all kinds of things going on there. But, you know, there's a level of appreciation when you've had to struggle for something that you go, I know what this is worth. I know what this took. That's one value that comes through the struggle. The other is increased dependance. Our hope is that through the reality that our work has struggles, that that points us, turns us, pushes us to lean on Christ more rather than self. If everything is easy, I tend to think, man, I am the best. I have got this figured out. But when it's hard. Jesus, you better show up. Where are you? I need you, you know, I should turn there to when it's easy. But when it's hard, that's where we naturally go. Jesus knew this. By the way.

Look at John 16: 9:08

33 here in your notes. In this world you will have trouble. He knew it. He knows there will be trouble in this world. But take heart. I have overcome the world. That's where we turn. In the midst of the challenges he has overcome the world, we can turn to him to find the strength that should increase our dependance on him. So work was given. It's given as a good thing. There are challenges. Challenges that should push us to lean on him more now. Specifically, in light of all that, what does Proverbs say about work? What can we learn from Proverbs? How can we gain wisdom from Proverbs? That's known as the Book of Wisdom, and apply it to the way we approach work now in our life? For contrast, we'll see here. And the first one in your notes. The contrast between the diligent person and the slothful person here is the contrast. Will you cause poverty or make rich? Or will you cause poverty or make riches be a part of making wealth, cause poverty, or make rich? This first verse here is that contrast and in each of those, each of these, points, the first verse listed is gives the main contrast ten verse four, a slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. The slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes risk rich. Here's the contrast between the person who is diligent. They create wealth and they do it not just for themselves, but they also do it for others. I've got a friend who owns a business. He started it from scratch. He's built it over decades and especially over the last decade, it has grown significantly, he said. Every quarter for a couple of years, it was doubling in size, really growing. And now he's at the point nearing retirement age. And and we talked about, you know, hey, what are you going to do. How are you going to approach retirement. There's a lot of different ways he could approach it. He could just continue working till he drops. He could divide it up between some people at the company. He could hand it all over to someone else. He could sell it. And he said, John, I've wrestled with all these different ideas. You know, the idea of selling, it's got the most financial appeal because I could get a big lump sum all at once. But he said, but listen, what about all the families that depend on me? I mean, if I sell it, I don't know what's going to happen with them. These are people I love and care for. I've spent my life investing in this company with them, and if I sell it off, who knows what will happen. I don't know because of his care, because of his diligence, he created wealth not just for himself and he created a lot of wealth for himself. He created wealth for hundreds of families. There's so much power in that. The diligent creates wealth. In fact, one thing that's interesting, I think it all started for him around the idea of craftsmanship.

If you look at this next verse 22: 12:20

29, do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before obscure men. If you want to build a business, if you want to be one who is diligent in their work and creates wealth, even if it's just for you and your family, and it doesn't extend out to hundreds of families. Like that's not for everyone. Not everyone has that ability, but it starts with seeing whatever work you have as your craft, as your stewardship, as treating it well, as doing the best you can with what you have. Because as you grow in your understanding of your craft, the things you learn in that they're going to apply in other areas of life. If you're given more responsibility, you're going to know how to handle the small thing, so you'll know how to handle the big thing

well. I think it's Luke 16: 13:16

10 that says, whoever is faithful with little will also be faithful with much, but whoever is not faithful with little will not be faithful with much. And so it starts. And it started for him as craftsmanship. They started small, started a couple of guys. They do whatever they could to earn money, and they did it with care and they did it with excellence. Even things that seemed below them for where they were headed in their vision. They did it with excellence and people took notice. Now contrast that, contrast the craftsman, the diligent contrast that with. It says here the slack hand who causes poverty. Now the interesting thing about the lazy, slack, slothful person causing poverty is, of course, it causes poverty for themselves, but also for others. If I'm not effective in my job, if I'm not working hard in my job, if I'm wasting the money of my employer, then of course I'm causing poverty for them, then not only that, if I'm not doing my work now, I'm forcing someone else to pick up the slack, which of course reduces their productivity as well. The slack hand it's not. A lot of times we feel like the decisions we make only affect us, but oftentimes they affect many others around us. And I'm sure we could go around the room and get stories of people who have had to pick up the slack of other people in places you've worked, and that's not fun. It affects everyone. It affects the whole thing. Look at this verse here 18 nine. Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys. You know, it's not just about how it affects me, it also affects others around me. Part of the problem is I end up creating a situation now where others have to pick up the slack and possibly have to take care of things. I should have taken care of myself. Look at chapter 20, verse four listed here. The sluggard does not plow in the autumn. He will seek at harvest and have nothing, because I did not plow, because I did not tend, because I did not create in the season where I should have. And now when I need it, it's not there. And so now I'm depending on others. Now someone else has to pick that up. Maybe they didn't want to and now they don't have a choice, or I get to go without Derek Kidner, he's a Bible commentator, He said it this way. He said the problem with the person described in this verse the slack hand who causes poverty. One of the problems is they become an excuse machine. You can come to them needing them to work, give them opportunities to work, present ideas about work. But for every opportunity there's a matching excuse. Now look at chapter 26. If you have a church Bible, you can flip over to page page 513 that's listed here in your notes. I just want you to see he walks through these examples. There's a list of them in chapter 26, verse 13 through 16. Look at some of these. The sluggard says there is a lion in the road. There's a lion in the streets. The sluggard says, I can't go work. It's too dangerous. I might get attacked by a lion. You see, these are on the absurd level, and maybe there might be. I guess there's a chance there could be even a mountain lion out in front of your house waiting to attack you. But these become excuses. I can't work today. It's too dangerous. Here's another one. Look here. As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard in his bed. And the imagery here is I turn over and I start to move towards work, and I'm turn right back. I haven't had enough sleep yet, and that's their main activity. Turning one direction, turning back now by the way, let me comment on this. Some take this and some of the proverbs on sleep. Some take this and go sleep is bad. You should always be working. Oh no no no no. Listen, God created us to need rest. And if you work when you should be sleeping, that's not good. And if you sleep. But if you sleep when you should be working, that's not good either. We need an adequate amount of rest to be able to function in life, but this is the person who never has enough sleep. Let me make another comment as well. As we're talking about all this, I get that we all have seasons of life. Maybe you have chronic illness that affects your ability to work. Maybe some of us have just gotten more experienced in our abilities, have lessened over time. That I'm not talking about all of that. I'm talking about the person who can work and just has an excuse and won't over and over and over again. That's who is being addressed here. Look as well. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. It wears him out to even bring it back to his mouth. And the implication here is that the food was prepared for him, and he won't even take the time to eat it. I'm just too tired. And you. I know you've had this situation where you've gone out of your way to do something for someone, something special that you know they need, and they won't even see it the rest of the way through. Why did I waste my time and my effort? You see, the sluggard has excuse. Well, that's just too hard to even bring the food up to my own mouth. Will you will you feed it in for me one excuse after another. And then look at this last one, though verse 16, the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. And I think this is the tragedy of this whole situation, is that the sluggard doesn't even see it, can't even see that they’re the problem here, and they have more wisdom than actually wise people around them. So are we going to be people who cause poverty or create wealth? Here's the reality for the Christian. And I don't know your situation. I don't know your abilities. We all have different talents and skills and abilities, but Christians are called to be givers, not takers. We're called to be life givers, not takers. And you know the difference. And it's going to look different

for everyone. But look at John 7: 19:38

38 here. Jesus said, whoever believes in me as Scripture said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. From us should flow life, and some of us will have the ability to pour out a lot more life than others. But the Christian should be known as the giver, not the taker. Look at the next verse here.

Mark 10: 20:02

45 Even the Son of Man came not to be served. And if anybody could ever come and demand to be served, it would be Jesus. And he came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. You know, at the very heart, at the core of our faith is the example of one who laid down his life and gave abundantly. We shouldn't be surprised that that's the call on us. So are we going to cause poverty or are we going to cause wealth? Be life giving, give to others? I'm not only talking about finances your life. We want to give life to others. That's the call of the Christian. So that's the first one. Look at number two. Will we rule or be ruled? Rule or be ruled? Chapter 12, verse 24 is listed here. The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. The hand of the diligent will rule. The slothful will be put to forced labor. The contrast is between those who are going to be in a place where they can be life givers. They can be productive, they can lead, versus those who will be put in a place where they have no choice but to just have to do whatever they're told by whoever is around them. Now the reality is we all serve under someone. We all have someone over us telling us what to do. Even the most independently wealthy people on the planet still have customers that they need to serve well, still have government laws they need to follow. We all have someone that we have to submit to no matter who we are. But the question is, and the issue here is what we where we don't want to end up is in a place where it becomes like slavery. You know, that can happen in the workplace where I'm in a job and I don't want to be, and it's awful, but I have no other choice because of life decisions I've ended up here. That's true of work for many. It can also be true financially. One of the verses listed here, verse 22 seven, the rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender. Now, I want to be careful to say that borrowing money isn't a sin per se. The Bible never says that's inherently wrong. And I know the bankers. We've got a few bankers in the audience that are thanking me for clarifying that. No, in fact, that can help create wealth done rightly. But even when it's done well in the right situation, there is a hint of the reality that the borrower is a slave to the lender at some level, because of debt, you do have constraints on your life. There is someone you a portion of your money is beholden to, and if not, if you don't, bring it and give it to them, that will cause big problems in your life. But the diligent person here speaks of the diligent rule or be real. They have moved towards freedom. They don't have that constraint of immobilizing debt. I mean, they may have various debts and business debt and all that, but they have moved towards freedom. They're not enslaved. And I remember we had an interim pastor here back when I was in college. His name was Joe Allen. He came before Pastor Kevin came before her. So you walk right in that window. He was here for just a little bit. And I remember him sharing some about this from their perspective. He said, you know, I've only ever served in ministry. We've never made a lot of money, but we've been very careful with our choices. He said. As a result, we don't have any debt. We've even paid off our house. And he couldn't have been 40 years old. And I've even I'm a I'm in college, I'm a 20 year old and I'm going, how is that possible? I don't know anybody like that. That seems bizarre. That seems crazy. But it just opened up a window a little bit to go. You know, we don't have to always just submit to debt and slavery. In fact, I think for Americans, much of it we've chosen many times when we don't have to. And as a result, we've always tried to be careful around debt. We've never had a car payment in our family, and there's been a lot of very lean years when maybe we should have to better provide vehicles for my family. We've never had a car payment. We don't have any debt beyond our house now, and we hope to pay that off at some point sooner than later. I hope we'll see how that goes. But the point being, don't assume you have to be enslaved. My oldest son, he's just graduated college this summer and he graduated no debt. Private Christian college. He came with some scholarship. We helped a little and he worked throughout it. It's a foreign concept to some college students, but he worked all throughout to pay for it. And when he graduated, standing next to him was a guy with $60,000 of college loans walking out the door. Those are two very different paths before them. And look, I don't know his whole situation, right? I'm this isn't a legalistic thing. That may have been what he had to do. I get that okay, debt isn't inherently a sin, but it does place a weight on your shoulders. And I think many of us have felt that. And you know the reality of that. Do we want to move towards freedom or slavery? Do we want to be ruled or rule?

This other verse here in 15: 26:05

19, the way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway. Do we want to put obstacles in front of us that will be painful to fight through, or do we want to clear level highway in front of us? That's the imagery here. So that's the second contrast rule or be rule. Now let's look at the third. Empty cravings or find fulfillment. Empty cravings or find fulfillment.

Look at 13: 26:38

4-- the soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing. I want that so bad. Oh, I got I have that, and I haven't put forth any effort at all to ever get it. They crave and get nothing while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. I love this verse because it does connect our work to our soul. And and if you've had, many of you could say, I've got a job that eats away at my soul. Every time I show up, a little bit of me dies inside. That's not me saying that, by the way, okay? I love the work I get to do. It's a huge delight. I can't believe I get paid to do this though. I'm very grateful I do, and I don't want that to change. Point being, you've had the jobs where it is soul sucking and you've had the jobs where it's flourishing. It feeds your soul. You find meaning and purpose in it, and we don't make work an idol. You know, the response to all this is not to say, if I'm a sluggard, then I need. I've gone to one extreme where I don't work at all. I need to go to the other extreme where all I do is work. And I've made that. My God, that's that's not the response. But the reality is there is a connection between the work we do and how it shapes our heart, our soul, our life, the things we we care deeply about. One fascinating illustration of this is from a writer named Dorothy Sayers. She was a writer in Great Britain. She was a contemporary of C.S. Lewis, wrote a number of books, was well respected, and during World War Two she commented on the nature of work at this time listen to what she said. During World War Two, many in the military found themselves doing work far more satisfying than their ordinary lives. And she said, this is her quote. For the first time in their lives, many people found themselves doing something and they weren't doing it for the pay, and they weren't doing it for the status. The pay was terrible and status didn't really matter. They were all just thrown in together to try to accomplish something. But they were doing it for the sake of getting something done for us all. We have a common mission here. We've got all join in together. We've got a common enemy who's out there, not in here. And we're working together. And there's so much joy and delight and satisfaction in that, even though the task itself is kind of mundane. But I'm finding so much more joy and excitement in that than I ever did in my normal job before the war. That would have been the sentiment. And she wasn't saying, and I'm not saying that war is good, but you've had that experience where the work, the atmosphere, the connection, maybe you haven't. Some have. And you go, there is life here. There's something exciting happening here. This is bigger than myself. I'm a part of something beyond me that feeds our soul. The diligent will experience that. But the sluggard, they won't. They won't even get a taste of that. The way we approach work affects our soul. And then, number four, the contrast here is between those who plan for the future. Those who look ahead, plan for the future, anticipate it, move that direction, or are a slave to the immediate. Number four plan for the future. This is the contrast. Plan for the future or be a slave to the immediate.

Look at the verse here 21: 30:24

5-- the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. The plans of the diligent planning ahead, thinking ahead lead to abundance. But everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. And let me comment on that word hasty, because I think I offended offended a few of my family members by quoting this verse to them this week. Well, I like to do things quickly. I like to be busy and get things done. That's not what hasty is referring to here, just the kind of person who likes to get some things done and be busy and work. I think, in fact, one commentary said this is more of the idea of the person who is impatient and inconsiderate in their rashness. This kind of hasty, maybe even impulsiveness, the kind of person who doesn't think ahead. In fact, maybe the person who skips work to stand in line for the lottery. Let me skip the thing I should be doing to do the quick fix. The maybe out there, the thing that'll fix everything for me. I know it does. Will the impulsiveness of the hastiness verses contrasted with the person who thinks ahead, who plans ahead? Stu Weber has a great book for men, Tender Warrior, and he talks about that idea of provision in there to see out ahead. That's what provision is. I mean, to look out ahead, to imagine what might occur and to prepare for it now, instead of just living in the immediate living, always in reactionary mode, surprised when something comes at me, having never considered that it might happen. That's why people put away money you need right now, but you go ahead and put it away for retirement, for the future, knowing you're going to need it. Then you can already envision a day where you won't be able to work and you're planning ahead. The contrast here is, which are we going to pursue? Are we going to plan ahead or just be a slave to the immediate? All of this gets summarized in this chart that's on the back of your notes. I mentioned Derek Kidner earlier. He's a commentary, a commentator, a Bible commentary. He wrote a wonderful comment, commentary on the book of Proverbs. It's very short. It's a great one to pick up. But I love this list that he gives. And I'm going to fill in the other side of the contrast between the sluggard. These words are his that are under the sluggard column. The sluggard is restless. Nothing satisfies, never has enough. By the way, even someone very wealthy could be a sluggard in that regard. I read a story this week of a guy who has his friends were perplexed. He's got $100 million in the bank and is still overworking and neglecting his family. And I know all of us are going at it. How does that happen? I'd love to have $100 million in the bank. I wouldn't work another day. Okay, well, how many who have a whole lot less still are overworking, still have this sense of restlessness? There's never enough. I'll never have enough. That's what's at the core of that restlessness. We find our satisfaction in Christ, not in our ability to provide everything we think will give us joy, but we find it in him. That's the heart restlessness that he's talking about here, that the sluggard has at the core of who they are. In contrast to that, the diligent is content and not content complacent content. We often use that word interchangeably. Godly contentment. First Timothy six six says that godly contentment equals great gain, a godly contentment that says, I know Christ will provide everything that I need. Yes, I'm going to be intentional. That doesn't mean I just sit around and do anything, but my contentment is in him and in the way he provides restless verses. Content. The sluggard is helpless. They have to have everything done for them. Always have to have someone else to do it, whereas the diligent is motivated. And yeah, I can lean on others for help. Of course, that doesn't mean I do everything in life myself. There's great joy in working on things together, but it comes from a central place of motivation. Knowing that Christ is working through me. The sluggard is useless. They make things harder for everyone around them, but the diligent is intentional. They take the lead. They take the initiative. They take the first step. They don't wait around for someone else to do it all for them. They're intentional. The sluggard will not begin things the diligent initiates. The sluggard will not finish things. The diligent sees it through. And even when it seems impossible to finish, even when it gets at its hardest moment, the diligent sees it through. And the sluggard will not face things, but the diligent not afraid of anything. The diligent does not walk in fear. The diligent doesn't avoid things because of the fear of what might be. And the reality is, the diligent can face fears, knowing that ultimately our significance, our hope, our joy, our peace is in Christ, not in our performance, not in our ability to accomplish things. I think one of the most helpful verses in Scripture for our ages in Matthew six around verse 30, in that area, do not worry about what you will eat or what you drink or what you wear. The pagans are the ones who worry about these things, but your heavenly father knows that you need them. So seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you if he knows what the birds of the air need. If he knows how to clothe the flowers of the field, doesn't he also know what you need? A heavenly Father, just like an earthly father, is going to give good gifts to their children. But the key phrase is there seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Seek him first. And I can't say that enough in all this about work. As we talk about work and diligence, it can make it sound like self effort. In the midst of all this. That's not at the heart of what we're trying to say. The Christian, first and foremost, foremost seeks his kingdom. We seek Christ. We start our day that way. We bathe everything in prayer, and the work of this church should be bathed in prayer. It's not about what we do. It's about what he does to open up hearts. Look, we can have the best evangelistic programs, the best events that we can do it all perfect. But if his spirit doesn't show up and pour out like we sang and prayed this morning, it doesn't matter. That's at the core of what we pray for, and I've hope that each of us, as we start our work day tomorrow or this afternoon, starts with that prayer seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Let's pray. God, we thank you that you gave us a work to do. We have an earthly work. Whatever occupation that may be. It could be some professional role doctor, lawyer. It could be mechanic. It could be in the service industry. Who knows? We thank you for giving us that work to do. We thank you for the spiritual work you've given us to do. Go, therefore into all the nations, proclaim the gospel, teach, baptize, disciple. We pray you'd help us to be diligent in that as well. And my prayer would be is that if there is anyone here who has been convicted this morning of being slothful, of being sluggard first God, would you help them to process the guilt and the shame of that, and to be able to have a clear step forward? And if there's anyone who's on the other extreme of having worship to work and made work and money and idle, they would repent of that and find the right balance to serve you and their family and to love them well. We don't make work or non work and idle. We worship you alone. Help us to worship you and all we do today. We love you Jesus. Amen.