Author: Christian Channel

Daily Bible Study
Here in these passages of scripture, God is speaking about our work ethic and not about poverty verses wealth. The references to poor and rich apply to ethics, morality and the overall state of one's heart. The second half of the passage reinforces the importance of a strong and godly work ethic. The writer paints a picture of the son who sleeps during a time when he knows work has to be done to feed the family. He sleeps during the time of year when it was expected everyone who was physically able would be on hand helping to bring in the harvest. These passages speak of a deliberate attitude of laziness, and purposely avoiding the work that everyone knew, needed to be done. This speaks of the heart of a person who avoids responsibility, and leaves others to deal with the consequences of their actions, or the lack thereof.

In addition, these passages also show us how a person who lacks morality and does not have a good work ethic can not only cause shame to their family; but also harm the community at large. Because of their failure to act responsibly when they should have, their lack of action puts others at risk. In other words their sin is a sin of omission, this is when someone fails to act appropriately, and fails to take on a responsibility they know they should have. In this case, failing to bring in the harvest puts the entire family at risk of disease from poor nutrition and starvation throughout those times of the year when it was impossible to grow grains, fruits and vegetables. Dear child of God, we have to understand God doesn't just look at our actions, He also looks at our motives and desires behind those actions, including those times when we purposely choose to avoid responsibility, or avoid work we know needs to be done.