Diligence: A Pathway To Greatness

The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor (Proverbs 12:24 AMP).

Slothfulness is one of the antonyms of diligence. That means the one who isn’t diligent is slothful, and will of necessity live a hard life, while the diligent receives promotion. The New Living Translation puts it this way, "Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave." It makes no difference what you do; if you work hard, you’ll be a leader and a champion. When it says, "Work hard," it means to diligently do whatever is required to be done to achieve excellence in what you do.

The slothful ending up a slave doesn’t mean he’s going to be a slave to somebody else, but to a system. That means he’ll be hemmed-in in life—a slave of the system—
whipped by the vagaries of life. The diligent, on the other hand, "will rule"; that means they shall have authority. If you’re a writer, a news correspondent, a journalist, a schoolteacher, a student, whatever it is you are, be diligent.


If you want to be successful in anything, whether it’s about gaining some more weight or shedding some thereof, or perhaps about your health or finances, diligence is what you need. Diligence means careful, persistent and determined actions to achieve a definite purpose.

Proverbs 22:29 says, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." The Lord is telling us that the diligent is not only going to stand tall among kings, he’s going to walk among them. Whether he becomes a king or not, he’s going to be known among kings. Isn’t that wonderful? You’re not going to be among obscure men when you’re diligent.

God cares about your life and what happens to you; He wants you to have excellent results in all that you do, that’s why He wants you to be diligent. You may have set goals for yourself in the area of your finances, health, spiritual or career development; pursue those goals with diligence. To fulfil God’s destiny for your life, you have to work on being diligent in every area of your life. Diligence is a pathway to greatness.

Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for granting me through your Spirit and through the effectual working of your Word in me, the discipline and ability to be diligent in all I do. Thank you for bringing me into places of influence and authority as I channel my energies into achieving excellence and perfection in all that I do, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study:
Proverbs 12:24 AMP; Romans 12:11

Culled from  Rhapsody of Realities.