Proverbs 10:4

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. (NIV)

America is driven by the pursuit of comfort, convenience and pleasure. Many of the products and services we use are designed to provide more of these “staples” of American society. But like the old saying goes, “Too much of a good thing can be bad.”

When we focus too much on Comfort, Convenience and Pleasure (CCP), and they become the “goal” of our daily lives, laziness can easily creep into our thinking. We become addicted to feeling good now. We start expecting and demanding the results we want now. If a task involves effort, we avoid it, because we want our convenience now. We can find ourselves resisting against anything that is difficult, requires effort, perseverance, and in particular, that results in delayed gratification. We don’t want to work for anything…we just want the results that immediately lead to more comfort, convenience and pleasure.

The word “diligent” in Proverbs 10:4, not only means done with perseverance and attention, but the Hebrew word carries with it an image of fine gold. Gold has to be mined, refined, purified and finally shaped into something valuable. The wealth hidden inside gold ore is experienced through constant effort and, sometimes, painstaking persistence.

What is the wealth hidden in the goals and dreams of your life? Are you willing to persevere to experience it, or are you addicted to CCP?