The Diligent Hand

Recently, I have been reminded of an old proverb:

⁴Poor is he who works with a negligent hand,
But the ^(A)hand of the diligent makes rich.  [Proverbs 10:4 NASB]

Some time ago, I had visited the site run by a woman with the handle, TimeThief.  From Time’s OneCoolsitebloggingtips site, one could gain some very helpful guidance for building and maintaining a great blog site.  Almost everyday, Time would update her site with some solid insights on blogging wisely.  Yet, this story isn’t about Time; rather it’s about one who is diligent in the work before them.

I wish that I could say the same for myself; however it is first part of the proverb that I must take.  I have not been diligent in my writings and the up keeping of this blog. As such, my writings and the blog has suffered.  Not only this, others have suffered too.  Our negligence will often snowball and impact others and not just the initial person.

It would be easy to point to someone else, as an example of being negligent.  However, this would be hypocritical, as I’m certainly not a model of being diligent.  It is only by God’s power and grace; I am able to do anything.

What does diligence look like?  It depends on the work you’re doing.  For me, it is writing and this blog is but the vehicle for the writings.  What good is a blog, if one is not writing something?  What good is writing, if there be no outlet?  Hence both need attention and care.  In case you did not notice it, I have only posted two short stories and one poem, in the last 7 months. Guess what, my site suffered and the result was poor readership.  When writing on a blog, people want fresh materials.

What can cause a man to be negligent?  In my case, I’ve been experiencing some kind of depression and it was killing my ability to write.  It also fed my lack of desire to maintain Inspiration Point.  Oh sweet irony! Guess what may have helped to break through?  That’s right; it is the very thing I neglected.  As some friends have said, “Keep pressing in!”

But God is faithful to help me, in the midst of my weakness.  I kid you not!  Between prayer, encouragement from friends and some needed push, one can push through; especially with God’s help.

Don’t think I’m excusing my negligent, for I am not.  Rather, I am sharing, so as to encourage you to not make the same mistakes I did.  God must be given credit, here.  For, it is God’s grace that I am overcoming the bout of depression.  It is with God’s abilities inside of me, I am breaking through the writer’s block.

It does not mean I won’t have periods of doubts and fears.  For, I certainly shall have them; however, it is through God’s grace that they are overcome.  It is why my friends and family encouraged me to keep pressing in.  God doesn’t just work independently; he also works through people, as well.

Now, it is time for a little twist.  About a year ago, I had the pleasure of watching the movie, “Facing The  Giants”.  It was a football movie and it contained a fitting analogy.

There were two farmers who prayed and asked God to send rain.  It hasn’t rain for quite some time and both were in need of it.  One day, they were told “God will send the rain, in time for the harvest.”    The first farmer set about preparing his field for the coming rain.  The second farmer did nothing.  Guess who got to reap the benefit of that promised rain?

The first farmer diligently took care of his field and made ready.  The second farmer did nothing to prepare for it or put forth only a little effort.  As a result, the second farmer’s negligent resulted in receiving little to no benefit from the promised rain.

The same thing could be said of writing or any other endeavor.  Yes, God did give me, a personal vision about writing on a computer.  Yes, God has helped me, to get the needed training and etc.  However, I still have to put forth an effort.  Yes, I have to be diligent in becoming a good writer.  But, a good writer is one who keeps sharpening his skills and applying them. This is something I’ve been negligent in.

The last statement is a lead in for this little warning.  My dad once spoke of three brothers.  Their names were Should’ve, Could’ve and Would’ve.  Yes, they were the BS brothers, as dad would call them.  A better name would b the Self Pity brothers.

Should’ve would often second guess his mistakes with statements like “I should have wrote this; instead of that!”  Could’ve never follows through and would make remarks like “I could’ve been a contender! I could’ve written that novel! I could’ve tried that great recipe!”  Would’ve looks to blame something or someone.  His remarks are “I would’ve got my homework done but the dog ate it!  I would have gone to that college but they’d rejected me, anyway.”

Such a trio will never accomplish anything.  They would only be known for feeling sorry for themselves.  Such a crew can never reap the benefit of diligently working towards a goal.  Does this mean we can’t have days of feeling down?  I am sure the farmer from the earlier analogy had some bad days; however he persevered and saw the benefits of the harvest.

Related Articles

• 3 Things Diligence Leads To! (togetherinthegap.com)
• Revisiting: Blog Like a Farmer (converstations.com)