The Promise of Hard Work 

It’s the 14th of the month, let’s read Proverbs 14. I pause today at verse 23 and consider: “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”      The saying ‘work smart, not hard’ has merit but this proverb promises that “all hard work” brings a profit, especially when the contrast is to ‘mere talk’. Mere talk might include meetings and planning and lots of good ideas. There is no promise of profit from mere talk – I need to get to work and work hard.

What other wisdom can we find in chapter 23?