Proverbes 22:29 (NEG79)

29 Si tu vois un homme habile dans son ouvrage,Il se tient auprès des rois;Il ne se tient pas auprès des gens obscurs.

Colossiens 3:23–24 (NEG79)

23 Tout ce que vous faites, faites-le de bon cœur, comme pour le Seigneur et non pour des hommes,

A man’s gift makes room for him. Do you see a man skilled in his work (Proverbs 22:29)? Maybe the rhetorical question has the expected answer: yes, I see him, but I do not see many like him. He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. The sense may well be the skilled and the competent worker will not have to boast of his capacities; will not have to sing his own praises; will not always have to be sharpening his resume; will not have to slander his competitors. No, his skill, his competence, proven over the long haul makes a way for him. Advancement, progress, a forward career, attained by competent work.

In summary, those are major features of the manner in which we should work. We should attend to our work with diligence; attend to our work with thoroughgoing honesty; attend to our work with competence.

We are to aim to provide materially for oneself, for one’s dependents, for those who have need, and for the work of God. A transcending aim—we are to please God. “Do your work heartily, as unto the Lord and not for men.”1

George McDearmon