Essay Question 3

In a human’s life, it takes a great amount of wisdom and diligence to become successful. Thus, those who are lazy and foolish will have little chance of climbing to the top. Subsequently, one cannot help but wonder what the difference between diligence and laziness is, as well as between wisdom and folly, and the book of Proverbs is one that offers explanations to such a question.
First, it is important that people comprehend the difference between diligence and laziness as stated in Proverbs. While being diligent means being prepared, and on top of things, a lazy person is one who often put off work that can be done today until tomorrow. In Proverbs, these two characteristics are often mentioned. Proverbs 6:6-11 comments that:
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man (NIV).

The book describes a lazy person as a “sluggard” who stays in one place. Moreover, a sluggard has to be made to get out of bed to be of any productivity. Unlike the ant that is productive and diligent, a sluggard will not gain anything.
Next, the relationship between wisdom and folly must also be taken into account. Wisdom is the definition of having a lot of experiences, and knowledge in life. In The Essence of the Old Testament, Ed Hindson and Gary Yates praise wisdom in every ways (265). Opposite of wisdom is folly, which is a character of someone who understands what is best for him or her but chooses the foolish route. Similar to the difference between diligence and laziness, both wisdom and folly are illustrated in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 3:35 states that “The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools” (NIV). An example of this is when a student has exams coming up. Instead of studying early to prepare for the tests, he or she just procrastinates until the last minutes. Such a choice will bring misfortunes to the student, as the test results will not be as good as other students. Moreover, since most students have a habit of comparing themselves to others, it is possibly unavoidable that the student who did badly in the test will experience embarrassment and shamefulness.
In life, there are many occasions where these four personalities are displayed. A realistic application of these four characteristics is when people dream. There are two types of dreams; the first type occurs when people are sound asleep; the second is a person’s future desire. Dreams are good but they could have negative effect. To be more precise, to a sluggard, a dream can be dangerous, as he or she does not do anything to realize the dream. This is as stated in Proverbs 21:25, “The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work” (NIV). Hence, in term of dreams, the ant’s diligence and wisdom will take it to a glorious path while the sluggard’s follies and laziness will result in failures.
It is beneficial to understand that the author of Proverbs, Solomon, is hailed as the wisest man ever lived. He put forward examples concerning the characteristics. Solomon teaches that laziness will result in serious consequences. He uses words such as poverty (6:6-11), shameful (10:5), and lacks sense (12:11) when describing a lazy person. Moreover, human society typically makes lazy people feel ashamed as those people often make shameful choices in life. Solomon also alludes to people who are abundantly supplied when speaking about diligence in Proverbs 12:11, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense” (NIV). Since Solomon, the wisest man, teaches that diligence is vital, it is safe to say wisdom and diligence go together in order to reach successes.
In conclusion, the book of Proverbs has given mankind an extensive look into the relationships between diligence and laziness, and between wisdom and folly. The contrast between the first two characteristics is as crystal-clear as smart choices resulting in benefits while idleness, nothing. Thus, people of Christianity should uphold the lessons taught in Proverbs, as those lessons are God’s words.

Works Cited
Proverbs. The Bible: New International Version. Colorado Springs, CO: International Bible Society, 1984. Print.
Hindson, Edward E., and Gary E. Yates. The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2012. Print.