The Rewards of Being Diligent
My dad once told me long ago that being a software engineer is about being lazy. A developer, he said, was always working to find the laziest way to complete a problem. Which sounds kind of funny when you think about it, but is actually very true!
It is a very real temptation to over-engineer something because we want to try a new technology, a new design pattern, or just want to rewrite something that bugs us. It’s the tinker in us. But it’s also a real temptation never to get started on something we know we should do. We can let technology get in the way of getting the job done, and doing it well.
Today’s chapter in Proverbs finds us considering the ways of the slacker.
The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.
Proverbs 13:4
A good Biblical example of this is Joseph. In Genesis 39 and 40 we find the young man sold into slavery in Egypt, but instead of trying to plot his escape, complaining about his circumstances, or trying to end it all, he is diligently serving his new master to the best of his ability and God’s hand of favor is upon him and he rises to the top of Potiphar’s house. Even after he is thrown in prison, he again goes to the top of that place too because he is faithful and diligent with his work. The ones in charge can see the blessing in everything he does and put all things under his control.
This is the reputation and testimony we should strive for. Not proud or seeking to be exalted, but humbly carrying out our work to the best of our ability, being diligent to complete what has been assigned, and being faithful and trustworthy to those above us. This means whether the work is difficult, or simple. It’s whether it’s that fun code that you really want to write, or the documentation that you hate doing.
Get in the practice of being faithful and diligent. Work heartily, as unto the Lord.
