Classic KJV - Proverbs 24:30

The Scene

This proverb describes someone personally observing a couple of properties owned, but not maintained. Normally, a field can produce a crop of fruit and vegetables, and a vineyard yields a harvest of grapes, but both properties are now messes, overgrown with thistles, covered with nettles. They are owned by a sluggard and by a man lacking sense—likely the same person. He most likely inherited the properties, since if he has no desire to maintain them, he likely didn’t have the energy to acquire them.

(1) Look, (2) Think, and (3) Learn

We can learn valuable life-lessons without going to school, if we pay attention to our surroundings. Develop an observant eye and ponder! Imitate the author of the text who saw, reflected, and received instruction.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), great circumstances and great opportunities never guarantee great results. Even in Israel’s Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey, the cows and goats needed to be milked, and honey had to be collected. God’s bountiful supply of resources must still be mixed with human effort. In any organization, management must provide both tools and training to its employees. No successful corporation can survive and thrive if it wastes good assets on lazy people.

A Little, A Little, A Little

Note the words “a little” appear three times! Small surrenders to creature comforts lead to big trouble, slowly, incrementally. The last sentence of this proverb repeats the lesson of Proverbs 6:10-11, where excessive sleep is discussed in detail. The author, the Holy Spirit, makes the same point from two different perspectives. Proverbs 6:6 gives us a good example in the productive ant. The text gives us a bad example: The sluggard. Refer to “Part Two - Extra Sleep Is Expensive” in What are two essentials for financial survival?

The point is this: Inactivity brings poverty. Procrastination brings poverty. It starts with just a little extra sleep, not with cat-naps. Cat-naps (or “power naps”) can refresh. But lounging around in bed when we’ve already had sufficient sleep is financially disastrous. The snooze button is the lose button. Big problems can come from small, seemingly harmless, comfort choices. The sleep test is more important than the S. A.T. test, Scholastic Aptitude Test.. What is the sleep test? Learn more about this with the keyword, “sleep.”

Translation: Sense

The Hebrew word for “sense,” לב (lēḇ, pronounced “lěv”), is translated as “understanding” in the classic KJV. Our Proverbs 17:16 commentary notes that this word is also translated “heart” as by Young’s Literal Translation. The word “heart” expresses our core commitment, our passion. And as an old 1950s song warned us, “Oh, it’s fine to be a genius, of course, but keep that old horse before the cart. First you gotta have heart.” The most successful people in any field are not the most intelligent, educated, or even talented, but those who have the most HEART, an unwavering dedication to their vocation, association, or project. Listen to the song.

Goodbye Heart—Hello Debt

Note this profound point: The expression, “lacking sense,” is also used in a financial sense in the question, Should you lend money to friends? Proverbs 17:18 describes someone effortessly and uncaringly falling into debt. Those who lack sense—lack heart—are likewise foolish with their wealth and financial obligations. They’re too careless to maintain their own property, yet eagerly buy more on credit, multiplying their poverty—and often the poverty of their friends.

Generations Comments

This commentary from Generations Family Devotional states the point perfectly:

Just as most people never know when the thief will break in to rob their home—he almost never sends a note ahead to announce his intentions—slothful people almost never see poverty coming. Quietly, slowly, and unexpectedly, it creeps up on them. It takes a while to use up the capital of previous generations and then spend your way into debt (which has happened in the present era of easy access to credit). Now slothfulness is almost a universal problem for our young men, 70% of whom are not “grown up” and ready to lead a household by 30 years of age (up from 30% in 1970). Since Proverbs deals with this temptation repeatedly throughout the book, it is safe to assume the temptation has always been real and present for young men in our sinful world. Therefore, it would be prudent to go after every instance of slothfulness. The problem with a little slothfulness is that it will morph into more slothfulness. A little extra sleep on Saturday turns into a little extra sleep on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. An occasional binge will, over time, turn into a habit, and habits will determine the character of a man. Once the character trait of slothfulness is ingrained in the man, it is extremely difficult to root it out of him.¹

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

Jesus lived a busy life in the service of others.

Sometimes He prayed all night while others slept (Matthew 26:40), but He took cat naps (Luke 8:23).

The correct amount of sleep is healthy and necessary, but too much sleep is pure waste.

1. Generations Family Devotional, "What a Slothful Home Looks Like." Monday August 15, 2022.