“In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.” (Pr 14:23 AV)
When we think of labor
and profit, we tend to think in terms of more is better or less is worse. This is certainly true of our motive is pure
profit. We tend to think little profit
is no profit when compared with great profit.
More wealth is assumed to be better than less wealth. This is a natural way of thinking. However, what Solomon might be trying to
teach his sons is all labor is worth pursuing regardless of how much profit
there may or may not be. We can assume
this because of the little word ‘all’ before the word ‘labour’. The temptation for the king would be to value
large projects or risks because the payout would be greater. It would be nobler to build a complex that attracted
millions of shoppers than a roadside stand that barely kept the owners
afloat. There are men like that. And praise the LORD for them. They are kingdom builders. They have the talents to see the big picture,
know how to organize resources, and delegate to others most of the actual responsibilities
to realize that vision. However, that
does not mean the corner shop owner is any less successful or any less
industrious. There is profit in all labor. Not just the labor that produces large
results.
Some of the reality shows
that I enjoy watching are business type shows.
There are shows like American Pickers where two fellas travel the country
in search of antiques. There is Shark
Tank where inventors or start-ups seek funding from billionaires. There was The Profit which featured a Chicago-based
businessman who rescued a failing business for a share of profits from that
business. What attracts me to these
shows is the actual numbers that are hidden and figuring out how people
involved in these shows can actually make money. There was another that I watch regarding gold
mining. This show featured a bumbling
family and their partners as they tried to figure out the gold mining
business. However, the business shows I
currently enjoy are those that follow bidders as they purchase and storage lots
and resell the contents. One that I like
to watch follows two fellas as they travel the country buying storage units. They do not use inappropriate language or innuendo. They made a statement once that stuck with
me. They said that eighty percent of storage
units are a bust. In other words, they
lose or barely make a profit. Factoring
truck rental and the time it takes to store and resell their goods, one can
understand the profit margins cannot be all that large. In fact, another fact they threw out there
was the failure rate of those who think they can make a living at it is in the
ninety percent range. It causes me to
wonder if all the effort these two men put into their little business is really
worth it.
It is easy to stay
committed when the returns are large.
Spiritual investment is no different.
When we started out, we read all the books we could get our hands
on. When we started out, we knocked on
doors like crazy. When we planted that
church and new people seemed to come every week, we were all over following up
on them. When someone was saved and
baptized every week, we were zealous to share our faith. However, when a plateau came about and things
got more predictable and less dramatic, we seemed to allow our faithfulness and
commitment to wane. When we have read
our Bible through for the one-thirtieth time, we may not be as disciplined to
do it one more time. When our journals
seem to get a bit repetitive, and the verse we meditate upon seem to be some of
the same ones, all of a sudden it is not worth the time. Solomon says there is profit in all labor. There is profit in reading the genealogies of
the old testament. There is profit in
janitorial work at the church. There is
profit in preaching an old message more than once. There is profit in repeatedly going to the
same individual trying to help them in a spiritual way. There is profit in all labor. Not just in those that bring a large return.
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