Friday!

Proverbs!

One who works his land will have plenty of food, But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

Proverbs 28:19 NASB

We could just weaponise this proverb and drop it into today's world, but what happens if you don't have any land?

And who decides what an "empty pursuit" is & what was one 3000 years ago?

Do the words matter? 

"Abad" is the Hebrew word for work here but it also carries the meaning of to serve, to worship. 

If I worship, or live to serve my work, business, farm, etc, does that make this proverb a little uncomfortable?

And the word for "empty pursuits" here is "req" which means empty or vain. How much of my time and energy is invested in vanity projects, that are about how others perceive me? How I look, what I wear, what I drive, where I live.

Now this proverb has us thinking about our hearts, our motivations, our choices.

This proverb is not a weapon to judge others, but a probe to ask me to consider my priorities, what I'm serving, and what is empty or vain.

Our God is dynamic, creating, working, coloring, shaping, making, relating, connecting, communing, and resting. 

He invites us to uniquely live out His Image in us. 

#imagebearers

#itsaheartthing