Classic KJV - Proverbs 16:26

This proverb is more descriptive than prescriptive. The NASB and KJV translations of the first phrase may differ, but the message is the same: We’re motivated by felt needs, the most basic being hunger. This text deals with needs-based motivation. It’s not addressing workaholics, who can’t stop working, but the lazy, who won’t start working. It's harder to start a ship than steer it, and the problems with excessive, compulsive work are addressed by other texts, like Proverbs 16:3.

Translation: Worker

The Hebrew word for “worker” here, עמל ('ā•mĕl, pronounced “ah-mel”), is derived from Hebrew verb (עמל, 'ā•măl, pronounced “ah-mahl”), “to labour” or “to toil.” It stands in contrast to two other Hebrew verbs for work, as it expresses the drudgery of toil rather than the nobility of labour. It appears seven times in the Old Testament, first in Judges 5:26, where it refers to a workman’s hammer.

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) explains:

The root of 'ā•mĕl relates to the dark side of labour, the grievous and unfulfilling aspect of work. A biblical view of labour based on this word alone would be defective. Moses uses this word to describe the frustration and struggle of the worker in this ephemeral, transitory world. It is also used by Solomon in Ecclesiastes as he details the frustration, profitlessness and transitory benefits of day-by-day labor... when that labor is not seen as service (even worship) to God, but simply as work done ‘under the sun.’

Pay for Performance

In the case of “thought” work, physical hunger may be a real distraction, causing the worker to lose his concentration. However, the text implies that self-interest is a strong motivator. Regardless of the type of work (manual, intellectual, or blended), the worker works because he expects to be paid. Workers deserve to be paid promptly and fairly. Pay for performance is a biblical principle alive in the marketplace: “The labourer deserves his wages,” Luke 10:7 ESV. A worker exchanges his services, expecting compensation. But sometimes the performance is lacking.

General Motors, the largest automaker on the world, suffered an $8.6 billion dollar loss in 2005, so in February 2006, GM announced that it would halve the dividend payout and slash the salary of its senior executive. GM’s chairman and CEO took a fifty percent pay cut: Poor performance, less pay.

Timing of Compensation

The proverb implies that, if we’re given rewards without making any effort, we won’t develop good work habits. So we shouldn’t be rewarded before we’ve finished our assignments. Our own workers should be rewarded after completing their tasks. Further, gluttony fosters laziness. Blood in the digestion is unavailable for other effort. We shouldn’t overeat, nor eat at the wrong time. For the most part, we can feed ourselves in relation to the work we’ve done. Lazy workers can’t be picky eaters—not if they’re buying their own food. If someone else picks up the tab, at no cost to the eater, it’s amazing how much food is wasted, and how picky the eater becomes. Hunger works.

Other Motivators to Work

• The desire for more—houses, vacations, boats, luxuries—easily becoming greed;
• The desire for status and prestige—easily leading to vulgar display;
• The need to provide for others, especially family members;
• The need to serve others from love and gratitude, like serving God.

Not all motivations are equally helpful. My former insurance sales manager once said, “People have either a greed button or a need button. Find the button that works and push it.” But there’s a problem with this advice. Need buttons are good to satisfy, but pushing greed buttons will hurt the client, and sooner or later, the agent as well. Stated simply, greeds are sinful, needs are not.

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

Jesus said, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. He also called himself the “bread of life,” John 6:48. Herein lies a rare combination—rest from work, plus bread for life.

This seems to violate the work-for-food principle found in this text.

Jesus promises us a freebie—a gift! (Romans 6:23)