Diligent Hands

Diligent

1. Prosecuted with careful attention and effort; careful; painstaking; not careless or negligent.
And the judges shall make diligent inquisition:--Deut. xix:18


2. Interestedly and perseveringly attentive; steady and earnest in application to a subject or pursuit; assiduous; industrious.
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings. --Prov. xxii. 29.

Syn: Active; assiduous; sedulous; laborious; persevering; attentive; industrious.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. Cite This Source







Pr 10:4 ¶ He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

The children and I read this verse recently, it must of been the 10th of January since the chapter is the 10th of Proverbs. We discussed diligence. We understood that we should work as hard as we can and finish the jobs that we are assigned. We even sang a little of Patch the Pirate's, "Finish the Job". Somehow the story of the ant and the grasshopper worked it's way into our discussion. The ant worked hard and had food in the winter. The grasshopper loafed and played in the Summer and had no food come winter. (I was tempted to teach a lesson in socialism here, but I refrained from getting too philosophical, LOL) We chanted our Hearn family Work cheer that day, where we stack our hands in a pile and shout, "Team in the huddle...we're gonna W-O-R and -K , We're gonna work today! GOOOO HEARNS!!!!" I think we accomplished much that day.

I was reminded of this verse again this morning as I read about Joseph and his servant hood in Potipher's house. His diligence is clear throughout his captivity in Egypt. Although he was falsely accused and victim of Potipher's lack of diligence (see above verse from Deut. in the definition), God would not forget his promise He made in Pr 22:29, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings;". Joseph is the main character in the original story of the ant. He stands before Pharoah, and oversees the all the work of every Egyptian hand in the rescue of their country from starvation. His diligence was rewarded above and beyond even what God promised. "Many hands make light work, but one set of hands should never make light of work." Be diligent.