“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it.” (Proverbs 26:27a ESV)
Today my family is celebrating my dad's birthday. I created some word art for him and framed it. On this art I quoted a question he asked of me when we worked together in the printing business many moons ago.
At the time my supervisor was a work-a-holic. During our busy season, we worked nearly every day, and many, many, weekends. Sadly, in how it pulled me away from my wife, family, friends, etc., some of this extra work was unnecessary. A lot of it came from my supervisor's mistrust of other employees and other shifts to really do the job they were being paid for.
Then one day, my dad walked by my desk. I must have been complaining or venting on how many hours I had been working. He asked me the question, “Are you working hard or are you working smart?” It was like a light bulb went off. Now things didn't change dramatically, but, over time, I took that wise question to heart. In fact, in my last 6-7 years of working for that same company, as a team leader, I could count on my hand how many weekend days I worked. And during those years, all of the assignments were completed, deadlines met; all from the help of our entire crackerjack team.
The wisdom and truth of 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV) speaks to this: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
We all work together, each according to his or her gifts and talents, for the common good. When we lose this focus...well, that takes us back to Proverbs 26:27. When we don't employ the gifts of others, that is when we dig our own pit. We all need that light bulb to go on in these instances. We need the Spirit's wisdom on this and should pray for it. Because after that pit is dug by our own hands, we fall in.
Certainly challenges come in life outside of our own doing. They happen everyday. What to pray for are those challenges we find ourselves in that are self-inflicted—areas where we've dug our own pit. Pray over these matters with Jesus today. And know that by His power, by the help of others, you can be pulled out.
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