{"id":14857,"date":"2019-01-29T10:42:09","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T10:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=14857"},"modified":"2019-01-29T10:42:09","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T10:42:09","slug":"wisdom-for-living-the-idle-the-workaholic-and-the-diligent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=14857","title":{"rendered":"Wisdom for living: The idle, the workaholic, and the diligent"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Tope Banso<\/strong>
\n\u201cBetter to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind\u201d (Ecclesiastes 4:6 New Living Translation).
\nHuman beings always have the problem of maintaining proper balance in life. Because of this, they engage in extremes that are not good for them and others. For example, I’ve identified three categories of workers \u2013 the idle, the workaholic and the diligent. I consider idleness and being a workaholic as two extremes that destroy people.
\nThe idle are lazy; they hate to work. They’re parasites on others. The Bible does not spare lazy people. Many scriptures condemn laziness (Proverbs 6:6-11, 10:4, 12:24, 13:4, 18:9, 19:15, 20:13, 21:25, 24:30-34). You must avoid laziness or idleness.
\n2 Thessalonians 3:10 says those unwilling to work will not get to eat. Ephesians 4:28 warns that anyone who steals should steal no more, but rather, work with his hands what is good so that he will be able to have something to give to the needy. Work to meet your needs and the needs of others. Work to fulfill God\u2019s purpose for your life.
\nThere is another extreme: overworking oneself. Being idle or being a workaholic is bad. Greed or covetousness, and anxiety, move many people to overwork themselves just to acquire things. They work to satisfy their greed or covetousness, or overwork themselves, out of anxiety.
\nEcclesiastes 4:6 says, \u201cBetter to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind\u201d (New Living Translation). The Good News Translation puts it thus: \u201cIt is better to have only a little with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.\u201d
\nDon\u2019t always want more and more, and hurt yourself, your family, loved ones and staff. You can\u2019t have everything. More doesn’t always bring satisfaction (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Jesus said in Luke 12:15, \u201cTake heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (New King James Version).
\nThe last category is the diligent. Diligence is always a constant in any equation of success! The diligent are hardworking but not workaholics. I see them as those who have contentment. They’re not moved by greed or covetousness, or anxiety, to overwork themselves. They maintain proper balance, between work and other departments of their lives.
\nDon\u2019t be idle, but don\u2019t also be a workaholic. Being called a workaholic is not a compliment. Be diligent without being a workaholic. Be diligent, but don\u2019t be motivated to work by greed, covetousness, anxiety, etc. Don\u2019t overwork yourself because you want more than it’s necessary.
\nHebrews 13:5a says your conduct should be without covetousness; you should be content with what you have. Godliness with contentment is great gain (1Timothy 6:6). Contentment is not the same as idleness. Exercise self control. Maintain a Godly balance.
\nPRAYER POINT<\/strong>: Father, help me to maintain a Godly balance, as I work.
\nThis is wisdom for living, and it\u2019s worth sharing. Please forward.
\n(For more inspiring messages, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
\n\u25aa Banso, an Abuja-based minister, heads<\/strong>
\nCedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria<\/strong>
\ncedarministryintl@yahoo.com, cedarministryng@gmail.com <\/strong>
\nTel No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523 <\/strong>
\nWhatsApp No: +2349081295947<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Tope Banso \u201cBetter to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind\u201d (Ecclesiastes 4:6 New Living Translation). Human beings always have the problem of maintaining proper balance in life. Because of this, they engage in extremes that are not good for them and others. For example, I’ve identified […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":14858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5772],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-faith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}