Jan 14 • General discussion
Proverbs 14:4
“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”
Proverbs 14:4 ESV
Progress is messy. Action is messy. Success, regardless of which kind, financial, spiritual, athletic, is not a neat or tidy enterprise. Build a great big beautiful house and for every hour of work done you will have 15 minutes of cleanup to do. Oxen are big powerful animals. They can make life on a plot of land much more efficient than the work of a person or even a small group of people. They work hard and steadily and can pull a plow or a wagon with ease. Because they work hard they need to eat to keep up their energy. They need lots of water to stay hydrated. Just like people. And just like people they need to, shall we say, relieve themselves. That’s not pretty. Now just think about the mess a few oxen make. More progress equals more mess. But even the mess of oxen can be useful as fertilizer.
Consider the amount of food produced with the oxen compared to simple human efforts. Someone who wants to avoid mess won’t buy an ox. But he will never feed himself or his family, let alone many in his community. Consider never allowing the mess of relationships or the hassle of getting yourself to church. How would I ever use the gifts God has given to use in the church if I’m never there? How can we ever uphold a brother or sister if we don’t go through the “hassle” of taking time to listen to them and help them. Comfort is nice and rest is good, but the work the Lord has for us is much greater. Yes, it can be messy, but the mess proves you have the sense to have an ox, and the mess can also inform us that the Lord is indeed using us for his glory.
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Proverbs 14:4
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