Proverbs 28.20
“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
Being faithful in this verse means being focused and disciplined in your work. Perseverance and patience are critical because results are invisible at first. This is in contrast to the impulsive and imprudent actions of an impatient man who is greedy to get ahead at any cost.
In order to achieve a goal in any area of your life, there are three things you must do:
- Work the process.
- Invest the time.
- Solve the problems.
Results are produced by the cumulative impact of daily behavior repeated over time. There’s even a technical term for it: “The aggregation of marginal gains.” Productive action repeated daily adds up to the difference between failure and success.
It is the cause-and-effect nature of the world in which we live, and it is God’s design. It is your responsibility to fully embrace the process and do the work. It is your responsibility to understand the time required and be relentless. It is your responsibility to face the problems and solve them.
You can’t cheat the necessary process, nor can you cheat the time that is required. There will be plans and projects that take a long time and a lot of effort to achieve. And there will be problems. There will be people who irritate you and situations that frustrate you.
In some situations it is possible to use strategies to streamline the process or techniques to accelerate the time, but the principle still applies. There is always a process that is necessary, a time that is required, and problems that need to be solved.
There is no magic bullet, no quick-fix path to success.This proverb warns against being hasty, impulsive, and greedy. It is foolish and counterproductive to resist the process or resent the time or complain about the problems. Just do the work!
“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.” (Proverbs 12.11; 28.19)
“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14.23)
Let me say it again: In any area of your life where you want to achieve something, it is your responsibility to trust God, understand the process and time required, and then do the work. For as long as it takes. Without complaining.
