Contrast of the Righteous and the Wicked
10 The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
2 [a]Ill-gotten gains do not profit,
But righteousness delivers from death.
3 The Lord will not allow the [b]righteous to hunger,
But He will [c]reject the craving of the wicked.
4 Poor is he who works with a negligent hand,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The memory of the righteous is blessed,
But the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The wise of heart will receive commands,
But [d]a babbling fool will be [e]ruined.
There’s a saying that goes something like “work like it all depends on you, but believe like it all depends on God…” This proverb is a reminder of both sides. In v. 3 we see God’s hand at work, and in vv. 4-5 we see our part in all this.
God doesn’t want us to sit back waiting for him to bring rain before we plant crops–it would be too late then anyway. Rather, He expects that we do our best with the tools and gifts with which He has entrusted us. Much like we cannot change the weather, there is this constant tension in the online/e-commerce world.
We cannot predict what the search engines are going to do, nor can we predict a hundred other variables that contribute to the success of our websites. Some certainly try to “game the system”, but that’s a fools errand, trying to find a shortcut to success. Instead, we do our best regardless of all those external factors, we write good content, make good products, and provide the best service we can muster.
And then what? We aren’t in control of the outcome, that is in God’s hands, and we must trust that He knows exactly what He is doing–because He does. So work hard, do your best, and “don’t worry about tomorrow, for it has enough trouble of its own…” Trust God with the results, and focus only on what He has asked you to do today.