According to 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture . . . is profitable.” No portion of scripture is irrelevant or unnecessary. This is not to say that some passages are not difficult or even labourious to read. The Bible contains a variety of different subjects and historical events. Some passages read very easily and offer great encouragement while others serve other purposes. Nevertheless, it is expedient that God’s people read “all the words” of the Bible. When Joshua stood before the people and read the scriptures, the Bible states, “There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel” (Joshua 8:35). He read “the blessings and cursings” (Joshua 8:34). In like manner, it is important for New Testament believers to read all the words of God.
A slothful man hunts and even makes a kill but considers it too much work to prepare and roast that which he killed. He would rather see the meat go to waste than to put forth the effort necessary to preserve the food. However, a diligent man considers his substance to be precious. He has no desire to see something go to waste. Interestingly enough, the Lord Jesus made a point along these lines at the feeding of the five thousand. After He fed the multitude, the Lord Jesus told the disciples to “Gather up the fragments that remain[ed], that nothing be lost” (John 6:12). It was important to the Lord that His followers made full use of the substance given to them of the Father. Nothing was to go to waste. A diligent man considers every part to be precious, even those things the world would allow to spoil.
When one thinks of strength, he often thinks only in the physical realm. He might focus on the ability to lift weights, endure a great amount of pain, or compete in a strenuous sport. Yet, the Bible points to true strength that has nothing to do with one’s physical prowess. The Bible says that the ability to retain riches reflects one of the greatest emblems of strength. Proverbs also warns that “riches . . . make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5). This means that a fool simply watches as his substance departs with no benefits to show for the loss. Yet, a strong man sets aside money and wisely preserves what the Lord has entrusted to him. Perhaps our heroes should not be those in sports but those who refrain from spending money to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.
Proverbs 21 contrasts the substance of a wise man versus the substance of a fool. In the home of the wise man, one can find oil and desired treasures. Whenever a need arises, he is prepared to take care of it himself. This is not true of the fool. He cannot take care of himself. We do not know if the fool at some point had treasures and oil as well, but because of his wasteful spending habits, he no longer has those things. In addition to the fool no longer having his substance, he also cannot likely account for how he used those things. Maybe the fool, like far too many Christians, wasted his substance on pleasurable living (Proverbs 21:17). For whatever reason, the fool cannot hold onto the goods entrusted to him by the Lord. Society today has grown accustomed to living on borrowed money, thus spending the future today.
