Are you cultivating or are you chasing “pipe dreams?”

There are a seemingly unlimited amount of coaches today that offer their services to help you to make more money easily, working less hours, while you are traveling around the word enjoying the sights. While I appreciate coaches who do give out valid, useful, actionable training, my perspective on this is that it is deceitful to say to people that it is easy to make money and build businesses. It is also deceitful to say to them that they can travel the world and live a life of ease while making “tons of money.” Many of those who are marketing this type of hype work very hard in their marketing efforts. They spend many thousands of dollars advertising and promoting their products and services in order for you to purchase them. In most cases, the only ones that are making real money on this training are the ones who are selling you the “get rich quick” courses. Proverbs 28:19 has something to say about this. Here is this verse in both the Amplified version and in the Good News Translation:

Proverbs 28:19 (AMP) “He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless people and pursuits will have poverty enough.” Proverbs 28:19 (GNT) “A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat. People who waste time will always be poor.”

Notice how both versions of this verse speak of cultivating their land and hard work. In all successful endeavors, there is good old-fashioned hard work. The scriptures promise that if we cultivate our land, we will have plenty of bread. Our land is our life and the work of our hands. If we waste our precious time in frivolous pursuits or ideas such as these “get rich quick” schemes, we will end up in poverty. The reason why “get rich quick” schemes sound so good and enticing, is because most only want the benefits. They don’t want the responsibility of working hard, planning, investing and discipline. Even politicians today are using this very same promise. Vote for them and they will give you everything for free. In reality, nothing is free. Someone has to pay for things. Reject those who offer grandiose promises of plenty with ease and enjoyment. Stand on the word of God. If you work hard and truly cultivate your land, God says you will have plenty of bread! Reject laziness and apathy, and embrace diligence. Reject the poverty and fear mindset and embrace the understanding that God has already given us all the resources we need all around us. We need to prayerfully and diligently utilize these resources, with wisdom, patience and vision. We also need to be consistent and not be afraid to make mistakes. All successful people make mistakes. Actually, they make more mistakes than most. but they keep on creating services and products that people want or need. And guess what, they become successful in their endeavors. It’s Summer, are you cultivating your land?

It’s in our DNA!

As we look to nature, we can see that there are commands embedded in the animal’s DNA. As soon as a horse (Foal) is born, it immediately seeks to stand up and looks for its mother so it can begin to feed. It doesn’t need to go to school to learn these life skills and habits. The Proverbist taught that we need to look to the ant and learn from them: “Go to the ant, O lazy one; Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Overseer or ruler, she prepares her food in the summer and brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest. How long will you lie down, o lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?” Proverbs 6:6-8. They are “wired” for success. They have in their DNA the innate knowledge of how to work in their community, and exactly when to go get their food. They even know how to store their food for the winter. Two things stand out: a) They thrive because they are diligent and consistent and, b) each one does their part consistently. This consistency and “community-level” diligence allows the entire community to thrive and prosper each and every year. The proverbist told us to observe and learn from this. We are the only species that have the ability to choose to refuse to do the very things that can cause us to prosper and thrive. Our decision to go against what can help us can destroy us as well as our families. We can choose to take drugs, choose to smoke, choose to stay home and be lazy, choose to remain uneducated, choose to make excuses and blame others for our faulty decisions. We can also choose to be like the ant and embrace the very disciplines that will help us to thrive, grow, expand, learn, work toward a clear beneficial future, gather provisions in the summer for the winter season, etc. Today, God is reminding us that it is our responsibility to allow Him to re-wire us for success in our lives, and that includes rejecting the habits and patterns of laziness and failure and embracing new habits and patterns (like the ant) that will allow us to prepare our food in the summer, and bring in the provisions for the winter. No more excuses! It’s time to get to work!