Slothfulness is one of the antonyms of diligence. That means the one who isn’t diligent is slothful, and will of necessity live a hard life, while the diligent receive promotion. The New Living Translation puts Proverbs 12:24 this way, “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.” It makes a difference what you do; if you work hard, you’ll be a leader and a champion. When it says, “Work hard,” it means to diligently do whatever is required to be done to achieve excellence in what you do. The slothful ending up a slave doesn’t mean he’s going to be a slave to somebody else but to a system. That means he’ll be hemmed-in in life—a slave of the world’s system— whipped by the whims of life.
The diligent, on the other hand, “will rule”; that means they shall have authority. If you want to be successful in anything, whether it’s about gaining some more weight or shedding some thereof, or perhaps about your health or studies, diligence is what you need. Diligence means careful, persistent and determined actions to achieve a definite purpose. Proverbs 22:29 tells us that the diligent is not only going to stand tall among kings, he’s going to walk among them. Whether he becomes a king or not, he’s going to be known among kings. Isn’t that wonderful?
You’re not going to be among obscure men when you’re diligent. God cares about your life and what happens to you; He wants you to have excellent results in all that you do, that’s why He wants you to be diligent. You may have set goals for yourself in the area of your finances, health, spiritual or career development; pursue those goals with diligence. To fulfill God’s destiny for your life, you have to work on being diligent in every area of your life. Diligence is truly a pathway to greatness.
