THE PROFIT OF LABOR

Proverbs 14:1-4 (KJV)

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Proverbs 14:23 (KJV)

In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Pastor Caleb told me a story this last week that suits me to introduce this lesson.

He was at a local Sportsman’s store in our area. Caleb said that there is one man especially that he likes to see when he is there.

This guy really knows his business in the fishing department. He told Caleb that he had retired at about age 40 with enough to live the rest of his life on. But then he found out pretty quickly that, with all that time on his hands, it was not hard to spend his retirement more quickly than he was likely going to die.

He went to work part time just to keep busy and quit spending money. After awhile he came to realize he enjoyed working and is now a full time manager in the fishing department at the store.

I want to speak on the subject, The Profit of Labor.

I will begin with the last first of our text

*I. THERE IS PROFIT IN ALL LABOR

Proverbs 14:23 (KJV)

In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

A. Honest work is profitable work

I was taught in Bible College, and I have seen no reason to question it, to teach people looking for work to take any work they are offered.

Every once in a while I will meet someone who will say that they can’t afford to take this or that job.

·   It is below their training or

·   It doesn’t pay what they wish to make or

·   It is a kind of work they do not want to do

I can see that taking a job so far away from home that you can’t afford to commute doesn’t make sense.

But except for that reason, it is wise to take whatever job is offered you while you wait and pray for the job you would like to have.

1. A job below your training will give you appreciation for those who work at that level all the time. You also have the opportunity to meet and to possibly give a lift up to those whose training is not as extensive as your own.

2. A job that doesn’t pay well is still paying you[1] and you receive the personal value of working.[2]

3. Even if it is not a type of work you want to do always, you are gaining new experiences and learning things you didn’t know otherwise.

B. Work, don’t talk about working

Proverbs 14:23 (KJV)

In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Notice that the passage there is profit in all labor but then makes the contrast with the “talk of the lips.”

When I was an ironworker we would be assigned to do certain tasks that were challenging.

It might be:

·   Putting some big object in a small spot

·   Picking up some very heavy object with a crane

Once in a while the crew would get together to “discuss” how to do the job.

And very often our “push[3]” would show up to tell us to stop talking and get to work doing the project.

I have to admit, sometimes those discussions were just excuses to take a break – we were ironworkers.

We knew how to pick up heavy things and fit objects where they belonged.

Talking about work is never as productive as working.

In all labor there is profit.

*II. THERE IS PROFIT IN THE DIRTY JOBS

Proverbs 14:4 (KJV)

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

I enjoy listening to Mike Rowe, well known for his show, America’s Dirty Jobs[4].

In his Prager U program called “Don’t Follow Your Passion”[5] Rowe says, “On Dirty Jobs, I remember a very successful septic tank cleaner, a multi-millionaire, who told me the secret to his success: “I looked around to see where everyone else was headed,” he said, "And then I went the opposite way. Then I got good at my work. Then I began to prosper. And then one day, I realized I was passionate about [my job].”

I’ve heard that same basic story from welders, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, HVAC professionals, hundreds of other skilled tradesmen who followed opportunity—not passion—and prospered as a result.”

That’s what Proverbs 14:4 teaches:

·   You can have a clean barn (with no animals to work with) or

·   You can earn an income

There is a huge swing happening in America right now where the best paying jobs, are not had by getting a college education.

College has become far too expensive and not nearly as necessary for real world jobs.

The loans people have to get to pay for their college cost so much that in some cases they work the rest of their lives never getting them paid off.

On the other hand trade schools are much less expensive and provide students with skills that can be used in real world work.

The only thing about trade jobs is – you might get dirty.

Once again, Proverbs 14:4

·   You can have a clean barn (with no animals to work with) or

·   You can earn an income

Finally

*III. THERE IS PROFIT IN THE DOMESTIC JOB

Proverbs 14:1 (KJV)

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

It seems like we have been on this pendulum

It was a man’s world.

I do not question that the old man’s world, that refused women a vote and treated them as not much more than their husband’s property needed some adjustment.

But it went too far so that it became almost criminal to be a male.

We had girls swooning over guys who dressed, walked and behaved themselves like women. (Michael Jackson as an example).

The feminization of the male has been rampant in Hollywood and in the advertising industry.

And women have now flooded the workforce.

·   There are currently 32 women serving as CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies.[6]

·   There are women serving as Fighter Pilots, women serving in combat roles.[7]

·   I was at Les Schwab this week and noticed that they had a photo of a female technician even there.

Ethel Merman voiced the sentiments of the majority of women of the Equal Rights era in Annie Get Your Gun (Anything you can do, I can do better.)[8]

*All of a sudden now the pendulum is beginning to swing a bit the other way and there are major movements toward masculinity and manliness.

Some of it takes on some weirdness where men go get tattoos together[9], or have cursing sprees – as if cursing were a sign of masculinity.

I do, however, cheer any movement that encourages men to

·   Provide for their family

·   Be faithful to their wife and

·   Protect their home

*With this movement back to masculinity it seems reasonable to me issue this reminder of the huge value of the wife, homemaker and mom.

Men must be men, and we need some manly men again.

But there is no job more valuable than that of the lady keeping her home.

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[1] Remember that the value of work is not in the income. God is the one who provides for us. The work is merely the avenue He uses to provide.

It could be He wishes to provide for you but to prove to you that it is not through the employer.

[2] Any honest work elevates our sense of worth. “If a man won’t work neither shall he eat.” Work helps us to see our purpose in life, gives us a reason to get up in the morning and confidence that our life matters.

[3] The Ironworker term for foreman.

[4] I haven’t ever watched the show. I do listen to his podcast, “The Way I Heard it.”

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVEuPmVAb8o, accessed 9-1-17

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women_CEOs_of_Fortune_500_companies, accessed 9-1-17

[7] http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/us/women-combat-us-military/index.html, accessed 9-1-17

[8] The movie, ironically, is about Annie Oakley who, though an outstanding marksman, was a consummate lady.

[9] Come on. Look around! It isn’t masculine to get a tattoo, there is almost no such thing as a girl who isn’t sporting some ungodly tattoos out for all to see.