Proverbs 12:11
He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that follows vain persons is void of understanding.
What a tremendous promise for every person who sets out to do work on any given day! First and foremost, the one who works must believe this—God will bless his work. Why would anybody go to work and plant seeds in the field if he did not hope for an increase? As Christians, we believe in God from whom all blessings flow. We do not live in a chance universe where our work may or may not yield any fruit. In His mercy, God has provided a world with much potential for profit, and He continues to providentially oversee the processes by which this can happen.
Now, this principle does not apply to those involved in meaningless endeavors. The Bible commends productive, intelligent labor. Should a man plant a field in a desert and neglect to water it properly, he will wait a long time for a crop. Those who sit around surfing the Internet and playing worthless games will yield nothing. Yet, these are the things to which young men are inevitably drawn if they have had little or no training in the way of wisdom. Although many around us will gear their lives around frivolous activities, entertainments, and recreations, we cannot allow ourselves to fall into this trap. The business of our lives must be work. That is the reason we are here, and recreation must never take the place of primary importance to us. We must therefore train our children to embrace work as the normative, natural way of life.
“He that follows vain persons is void of understanding.” In short, let us choose our friends wisely. Surely, the wreck of many a life came about by bad associations. Another familiar maxim is related: “Birds of a feather flock together.” That is, vain persons tend to seek the company of other vain persons, and they help to ruin each other. Conscientious Christian parents will apply themselves to training children in wisdom, while protecting them from empty-headed fools. As the Holy Spirit renews their hearts and sanctifies their minds, they are less interested in the foolishness of the world. These vain persons place the highest value on the lust of the flesh and the pride of life; such things as sinful habits, sensual pleasures, perpetual recreation, and material wealth. So often, the college scene detracts from a biblical focus on the kingdom of God and His righteousness—the cultivation of Christian character, healthy family life, and true dominion work. To this day, there are far too many fools found in college dormitories and classrooms in proportion to the wise.
Proverbs 12:12
The wicked covet the catch of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit.
Evil men are always looking for ways to cut corners in the pursuit of wealth. They take flagrantly irresponsible risks with other people’s money and resources, ruining their corporations, banks, and economies in the process. Of course, other wicked men quickly join them in their fractional reserve banking schemes and corporate lending programs, all in the interest of getting rich quick. Then when their systems fail, they rely on their partners in crime in government to bail them out of their troubles.
But all of these systems based on covetousness and greed will fall in the end. If large numbers of people are tied into these systems, including bankers, financial advisors, mortgage brokers, and imprudent investors, the demise of it all will only be that much more spectacular. In the meantime, what will happen to the righteous? Those who have worked hard to produce an honest living, and those who have separated themselves and their children from an education system that will not teach God’s fear and God’s law respecting economics, will continue to flourish even through trying times.
1. When you set out to do your schoolwork or your other tasks, do you have a strong sense of purpose? Do you believe that God will eventually reward your efforts?
2. Are you ever tempted to follow after vain, empty friends? Give your best definition of a vain person, in your own words.
3. To what extent should our family leave behind a system of debt, and develop a different kind of economy? Does this mean we must live a simpler life?