Adding Personal Diligence

Two beautiful verses in Proverbs have long been a guiding light to me. Together, they sum up the conditions for true riches, or enduring wealth. One condition, the Lord meets; the other, we meet. Both conditions must be fulfilled in order for us to attain the result. The condition the Lord meets is stated in Proverbs 10:22:

“It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it” (NASB)

The great, primary condition for true riches—spiritual and otherwise—is the blessing of the Lord. We cannot count on anything being really good apart from the blessing of the Lord. On the other hand, the blessing of the Lord, by itself, is not sufficient. In Proverbs 10:4, we read:

“Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (NASB)

It takes the Lord’s blessing plus our own diligence to attain to true wealth. It is not enough to simply expect the blessing of the Lord, or even to receive the blessing of the Lord. It will not accomplish its purpose in your life unless you add to it your own personal diligence. Remember, diligence is the opposite of laziness.

That is a verse I have proved true in my own experience through decades of Christian living. I have been in many different situations, in many different forms of ministry, and in many different lands and continents, and I think I can say that, by the grace of God, I have always displayed diligence in things small and great. In every situation with which I have been involved, I have left it in better condition—spiritually, financially, and in every obvious way—than the condition it was in when I found it. The blessing of the Lord makes rich, but also the hand of the diligent makes rich. Add those two together and you have true spiritual riches.