Till the Land and Read a Proverb
The Proverbs are packed full of wisdom and every Christian should strive to read a chapter a day. Today, chapter 28 contains this nugget of truth. Proverbs 28:19 reads, “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (ESV). The King James speaks specifically to the tilling of the land which to most in America is virtually meaningless. What does it mean to work or till the land? In the past anyone with a piece of land understood that the land had the potential to feed a family if it was worked. The ground could be tilled—that is broken up into soft dirt for seeds and plants. Potatoes, tomatoes and corn could be planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. Then with the right storage techniques the garden could provide food for the winter. Whoever works his land will have plenty of food. Today we don’t think of working the land to avoid starvation but in the past people understood if they didn’t work they didn’t eat. Today big government provides in such a way that the proverb from Solomon doesn’t have the weight it had in the past—that’s unfortunate. There is great God-glorifying satisfaction enjoyed by those who work with their hands—even if it something as simple as a small garden in the back yard. Christians should be the hardest workers on the planet. Have you ever planted a rose bush or a tomato plant? It really isn’t hard. Dig a hole, loosen the soil around the place where you will plant, remove the plant from the container, add fertilizer around the plant and intermix it with the dirt you removed, add that dirt back into the hole, slightly pack the dirt down around the plant, water thoroughly and keep it watered for a few weeks. Then watch it grow with the satisfaction that roses will be enjoyed by all for years because you worked the land instead of following some other worthless pursuit. Or even better yet—the tomato you are eating was grown by yourself. Try working the land—it is not as hard as you think.
