A lazy person's life is as difficult as walking through a patch of thorns. But an honest person's life is as easy as walking down a smooth highway. Telling the truth gives a man great satisfaction, and hard work returns many blessings to him.
   A lazy fellow is a pain to his employers - like smoke in their eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge. A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. Lazy men are soon poor; hard workers get rich. A wise youth makes hay while the sun shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.
   If you love to sleep, you will be poor. If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food. Lazy people sleep a lot. Idle people will go hungry. The lazy person is like a door that turns back and forth on its hinges. He stays in bed and turns over and over. The lazy person may put his hand in the dish, but he's too tired to lift the food to his mouth. The lazy person thinks he is wiser than seven people who give sensible answers. Whoever loves pleasure will become poor. Whoever loves wine and rich food will never be wealthy.
   I passed by a lazy person's field. I went by the vineyard of a man who had no sense. Thorns had grown up everywhere. The ground was covered with weeds. And the stone walls had fallen down. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: You sleep a little; you take a nap. You fold your hands and rest. Soon you will be poor, as if you had been robbed. You will have as little as if you had been held up.
   He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.
   It is better to get your hands dirty, and eat, than to be too proud to work, and starve. A fool is so upset by a little work that he has no strength for the simplest matter. Hard work means prosperity; only a fool idles away his time. A person who doesn't work hard is just like a person who destroys things.

Taken from Pro. 10, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, Ecc. 10, The Everyday Bible,
The Living Bible and The New International Version. For free Lifescope book,
write to Box 1575, Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.