August 13, 2026

Business by the Book

Proverbs 6:10–11 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.

Since the dawn of time work has been the cost of existence. In the Garden of Eden the Lord God told Adam to dress and keep the garden (Genesis 2:15). After the fall, the Lord told Adam: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground;… (Genesis 3:19). From that time until this mankind has found that work is the cost of living.

Today’s verse is the “other side of the coin.”  While making a living takes work, obtaining poverty takes nothing. No work, no energy, no drive, no occupation, no sweat, equals poverty. Sadly some dwell in poverty because of health issues, mental issues, or other debilitating problems. Sadder still is that some dwell in poverty simply because their sleep robs them of prosperity.

Solomon, who gathered together the wise sayings found in the book of Proverbs, also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. In that book he penned, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;… (9:10) This is the true cost of living. Working with the energy of your life brings prosperity, doing nothing brings poverty. The more work the more prosperous, the more sleep the more poverty. Someone once said that the only place in all the world where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Prosperity or poverty is inexorably tied to the amount of work (or energy) one puts to a task. Of this the Bible is clear. The only other aspect of these two extremes is the unseen hand of God’s providence. Which as my teacher said years ago in sociology class: “Mr. Howe, that is beyond the scope of this discussion.”

Dr. William Howe