The 24th chapter of Proverbs does not speak much to me, with a few exceptions. Verses 17 and 18 are an interesting twist on “Do unto others.” And verses 33 and 34 are repeated at various points throughout Proverbs, warning us not to be lazy.
One verse stands out from the rest, though, perhaps because it has several layers of meaning:
Prepare your work outside,
get everything ready for you in the field;
and after that build your house. (Prov 24:27, NRSV)
In a post-nomadic, agrarian society, it would have been critically important to “make hay while the sun shines.” Guess what? Our Information Age society is not that much different.
In recent months I have put much on hold while I have concentrated on building my various client bases, both in my network marketing company and in my Web development and consulting business. And yet the weather trumps both of those. When my grass is long and the sun is shining, I can’t think of many excuses not to get busy with the lawnmower. (This also satisfies my exercise quota for the day, which happens also to be one of my priorities.)
It’s all about priorities. And planning. I can’t “build [my] house” if I’m not producing the means with which to do so.
What are your priorities? What are your plans? Don’t answer to me, answer to yourself. Definitely make plans for the future, and remain flexible enough to fit higher-priority activities into the mix.
