Mere Talk

Proverbs 14:23

Have you ever known those people who talk about work, but never seem to do any? Those people who always have the next great idea but never do anything to make that idea happen? Those people who never can get ahead and they spend all their time telling you about it (instead of working)? Listen to Proverbs 14:23—“all hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” One interpretation of the book of Proverbs is that it contains truisms, things that are generally, but not universally true. That might be a good way to look at this verse. There are people who work very hard, but cannot say they’ve made a profit yet. But I think the general principle of the verse stands: talking about what you’re going to do without taking action is never going to get you there. You’ve got to work.