This proverb falls in line with the many proverbs that praise diligence and the profit it brings, and they condemn laziness as a cause of hunger and poverty (6:6-11, 12:11, 24, 27, 13:4, 14:23, 18:9, 27:23-27, 28:19) Diligence is marked by persevering and painstaking effort. Am I characterized by steady attention and effort?
In years past the concept of slowly building up savings for a future event was known and practised. People would say, “She or he was industrious.” When I was a child starting in mid-summer my mother would put a little money every month into a department store’s Christmas savings account. This would soften the financial blow of buying Christmas gifts for my siblings and me come December. I remember this so well because I hated waiting in the long line in the ill-decorated back room with all the other mothers and their children doing as she did.
The building of the temple in Jerusalem took two generations. David gathered building materials in his old age and Solomon started stacking stones until the building was finished. The tedious work of laying one block on another eventually leads to a monument. Being in a hurry leads to the building falling in a day. The Lord willing with education I can do much.
