Worthless Pursuit

Proverbs 28:19 ESV

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,

                But he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty

It was an ordinary scene as I pulled up to the man standing in the middle of nowhere. Quiet and peaceful with a slight wind blowing across the fields. The cloud cover and recent rains had kept it from getting too hot, and it was still early morning so his mood was jovial. I turned my motorcycle off and we chatted a little, at least until he turned the stop sign around so I could go slow. In our discussion one thing he said caught me off guard, and it happened to me twice that day, and that was the numerical value of his work. I had commented on his somewhat lonely location, and he said “yea, but it’s worth $1200 a week” and the conversation moved on. Yet, as I had another hour to get where I was going, I was blessed to reflect on the value of labor, and how our society places value on our labor.

As our year began, I was strongly convicted with my need to sow wisdom into my children and we have embarked on reading a chapter of Proverbs every evening. We read the chapter that corresponds to the day, meaning we read Chapter 28 on the 28^th day of June. Having reflected on work and twice been given the value given to a man’s labor, I was struck squarely by this verse, as I reflect on my time and where it is spent, how to train my children the value of work, and its place in their lives, I struggle.

The Proverb places two “plentys” before us. The Plenty of food that comes with work and the Plenty of poverty that comes with “worthless” pursuits. Isn’t it interesting that work is not juxtaposed with idleness but with worthlessness? By implication I can be very busy but not doing things of worth and find myself in a worthless pursuit. It also needs to be noted that it is a pursuit not a casual interest or momentary diversion, but rather something that is pursued by an individual, meaning that they put effort into it. The idea isn’t that they don’t get what they want, as if their pursuit is after a chimera or vapor, but rather that what they are pursuing doesn’t have value and is worthless.

Man was made to work, but he was also made to walk with God in the cool of the day, in the midst of the garden. To enjoy the fruit of his labor and rejoice with God in it, as he prepares for the next day’s labor. There is an epidemic in our culture of men in pursuit of false victory. We pursue this in sports and video games, in movies and reading. It is safer to conquer Mount Doom (Lord of the Rings) than it is the mountain of work cluttering our garage. Convinced that we need to unwind, we look to be entertained rather than re-created. Enjoying our leisure we spurn the idea of an hobby that is work. Binging on the latest “bingeworthy” show to come across our Netflix/Hulu/Disney+/Apple TV.

What do we do when our entertainment and leisure become a pursuit rather than recreation, a value added activity that prepares us and rejuvenates us for another day? It might just be time to find a pursuit that is more than entertaining but one that helps us create something with God.

Coram deo