Commentaries:
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Proverbs 6:6-9
We owe a duty to God and to the affairs of this life. We are to be diligent in our business in providing for ourselves and our families. God, at the very beginning of the Book (Genesis 1-3), when He put Adam and Eve in the Garden, says that they are to dress and keep it, meaning that they are to embellish it, to add to it, and to guard it from deterioration.
Part of our responsibility is to be diligent in doing our job for our employer. We are to be careful not to squander and waste what we have. We are to look ahead and plan to provide for future demands, taking into consideration that there will be emergencies like accidents, illness, death, natural disasters. We are to prepare for such things.
If we fail to do that, it is not showing faith that "God will provide," but rather presumption and irresponsibility in throwing all the responsibility on God while we ignore ours, failing to fulfill what God instructs us to do. There is much to be learned about God's Kingdom and getting prepared for it by carefully using our resources.
The danger lies in our human proclivity to tend toward extremes. The most common is following human nature's inclination to be overly concerned about the things of this life and devoting too much time and energy to it. Jesus points this out in Matthew 6:25, advising us to “take no anxious thought.”
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Christian and the World (Part Eight)Related Topics: Christian and the World | Diligence | Diligence in Work | Dressing and Keeping | Irresponsibility | Planning for the Future | Prepare for Emerggencies | Presumption | Responsibility | Take no Anxious Thoughts | Using Our Resources Carefully
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What Does Proverbs 6:6 Mean?
We owe a duty to God and to this life, being diligent in our business and providing for ourselves and our families. From the beginning, God instructed Adam and Eve to dress and keep the garden. Careful stewardship means not squandering resources, planning ahead for emergencies, and preparing for God's Kingdom. Failing to prepare is not faith but presumption and irresponsibility. The danger lies in extremes, especially devoting too much anxious thought to this life, which Jesus warns against in Matthew 6:25. The ant teaches valuable lessons. It is self-motivated, needing no captain, pursuing its duties in a disciplined, organized way without procrastination. As a social insect, it cares for the colony and its young, all without a leader. Prosperity results not from wishes, but from work.