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Proverbs 6

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. ⁷ Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, ⁸ she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. ⁹ How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? ¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ¹¹ and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 21:20

Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.

Proverbs 22:13

The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!"

Proverbs 24:27

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

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Talk Sheet Questions

1. When you consider the ant, what do you learn? (6:6-11) Where else might you look in creation to find examples of industry and work?

2. In your view, is work a bad thing, a necessary evil, tolerable, or a good thing? Explain.

3. How is work different in our day than what is in view in Proverbs? Do the same principles apply? Explain.

4. Is there anything in the Proverbs or elsewhere in the Bible that informs your saving and spending (not debt, that’s next week)?

5. What would you say are the chief barriers to teaching the younger generation to work?

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Prayer

Pray that we would glorify God in our work.

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