Ecclesiastes 4:5-6 - "Fools fold their idle hands leading them to ruin. And yet , better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work."
photo credit: sarah Marie Photography
What on earth does that mean?! Basically it's the battle between work life and life enjoyment. The battle over laziness and a workaholic.
Solomon is warning the "lazy" or the idle hands that do nothing in the first part of the verse. Most of us aren't lazy at work... So extend this to other areas in your life. Are you lazy or idle in your relationship with the Lord?
Second part we all can relate to a bit more. We strive for success at work. Working our way up the ladder. Making a name for ourselves all to enjoy life's pleasures. Ahh.. But there in lies the issue. It's human nature for our hard work to be driven by greed, envy, a desire to be better than the person next to you. This is where the trap hides. God asks us to work hard to honor him. To use our talents to glorify his name. Not to seek the next pleasure. He also wants us to see life as a gift from him. He wants us to see that real pleasure is found in enjoying whatever we have as gifts from him, not what we can accumulate.
So when he instructs us to have one handful of quietness, he is instructing is to take a rest, find balance, work hard but in moderation. Take time to enjoy the gifts he has given to you. Realize God gives us the work and he is the one who rewards us... Not by our own action.
Seeking balance,
Carly