Hope of Future and Fruit of Labor

In all toil there is profit,
  but mere talk leads only to poverty.

                           (Prov 14:23 NRSV)

I was listening to Dr. Jordan Peterson on YouTube this morning and something that he said really caught my attention. He said something to the effect of, "an old person has the fruit of their labor; young people have the hope of their future."  

As an older person, there are days when I am not exactly sure how fruitful my labors have actually been. I have worked hard and for many, many decades. I am not rich financially. But, I feel blessed almost all of the time. I am comfortable. I am comfortable because I know that in the days when I was not so profitable or fruitful, God provided for my needs. I am comfortable because I know that he will always take care of me according to his good will. That does not mean that I get to quit laboring and let God through others take care of me. 

I am comfortable (but, not always and completely because of my sinful nature) in that I do recognize the fruit of the work of my hands. But, the question is: has my labor been fruitful in the eyes of God? Has my labor glorified God? The answer to that is definitely not always.

Dr. Peterson said that the young people have the hope of their future. Hope is a good thing. It is a necessary motivator to strive for the things one dreams of. It is necessary for growth and to being able to, when one grows old, to enjoy the fruit of their labor. 

It is the hope of many of my generation that the young will not make the same mistakes as some of us have; spending too much time dreaming and not enough time toiling to accomplish their dreams. Dreaming is a good thing. But, if we are to accomplish any thing then action must follow and often it is quite a lot of action. It is not enough to say that we will do this or that. We must work to reach the goal. There must be labor in order to be fruitful. Fruitfulness follows labor which follows the birth of our hopes and dreams.

I do not understand the philosophy that those who do not work, even though they are able, should be fed by others. Sadly, it is a growing ideology. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." (2 Thess 3:10:12)

And, it is not just so that we can have the basic necessities of life that we labor.  Christians will labor and do all that they can to the best of their God given abilities that God might be glorified. When St. Paul wrote to the Colossians concerning our duties to one another he said: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ." (Col 3:17, 23-24)

Whether young or old; whether still forming your hopes and dreams or enjoying the fruits of your labor in your later years; may all things that we say and think and do glorify our Father in heaven.

God's Peace - Pr. J.