Growing up in the hills of Fifty-Six, Ark., it did not take me long in my elementary school days to realize my favorite educational activities were lunchtime, recess, school breaks and field trips in that order (ha!). However, I find that I am in very good company because the Proverbs reveal that the wise man, Solomon, had a fondness for field trips. Today we want to consider a field trip Solomon took recorded in Proverbs 24:30-34, and he teaches us some great life lessons he learned.
The Scripture here tells us about Solomon’s trip, “I went by the field of the slothful (sluggard, lazy, idle), and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding (unwise); And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.” Poverty has been described as destitute of the means of providing food, clothing and other necessities of life, and its consequence is total dependence on others for these necessities.
One of the first life lessons we learn here is that God blesses labor and even commands it starting in Genesis and continuing throughout Scripture. Adam was told, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” and in the New Testament, we are told to “work with your own hands” and “If any would not work, neither should he eat.” I was taught as a child that anything worthwhile takes effort and it takes labor to be successful in any endeavor.
Another lesson we find here is that our lives need to be built on principles not foolishness, folly and slothfulness. We are instructed in Matthew 7:24-27 not to build our lives upon the shifting sands of time, but upon the Rock, the eternal foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We learn, too, that we should apply ourselves to learning – never stop learning. Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear, and increase learning.” We will never be able to learn all the jewels of wisdom in God’s Word. His Word is Spirit and life.
Further observation of this Bible text brings to our attention that we must learn not only from the successes of others, but especially from the mistakes of others. The warnings are all around us.
Finally, I’d like to share a poem written by Theodore Brennan and entitled, “I Looked,” that I first heard over 40 years ago and it still speaks to my heart every time I hear it: “I looked upon a farm one day that once I used to own. The barn had fallen to the ground; the fields were overgrown. The house in which my children grew, where we had lived for years, I turned to see it broken down and brushed aside the tears. I looked upon my soul one day, to find it too had grown, with thorns and nettles everywhere, the seeds neglect had sown. The years had passed while I had cared for things of lesser worth: the things of Heaven I let go while minding things of Earth. To Christ I turned with bitter tears, and cried ‘O Lord, forgive! I haven’t much time left for Thee, not many years to live.’ The wasted years forever gone, the days I can’t recall; if I could live those days again, I’d make Him Lord of all.”
— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.
