She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. (Proverbs 31:19-20)

The woman of Proverbs 31 described in today’s passage teaches us an important lesson about work and generosity—namely, that the two can be inextricably linked. As my friends at The Theology of Work Project explain:

Because she is successful in spinning, she has something to give to the poor, and conversely, her generous spirit is an essential element of her capability as an entrepreneur/executive. In other words, Proverbs claims that generosity and fiduciary duty do not conflict. Being generous to the needy out of the household’s resources does not reduce the owner’s wealth, but increases it.

Because God will always, always reward the kindness we show to the poor (see Proverbs 19:17). Sometimes in this life and sometimes in the life to come.

Jesus said this most famously in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not store up for you...

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. (Proverbs 27:5-6)

According to the Harvard Business Review, “By roughly a three to one margin, [employees] believe [that corrective feedback] does even more to improve their performance than positive feedback.” In other words, most people accept the wisdom of today’s proverb that an “open rebuke” is “better” than “hidden love.”

There’s just one problem. While the vast majority of us prefer constructive criticism to pats on the back, “only 5 percent believe managers provide such feedback.”

So, what can you and I do to encourage others to correct us in love? Here are four ideas.

#1: Offer the gift of open but loving rebuke to others. This can be tough for Christians who feel the call to be kind. But you and I aren’t called just to be nice. We’re called to love as Christ loved us (see John 13:34), and he often rebuked those he loved (see Matthew 16:23 and Luke 9:37-56). 

“You ...

Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by. (Proverbs 26:10)

In 2012, the CEO of Yahoo was fired just months after getting the job when an investor discovered that the CEO had lied on his résumé about holding a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

The CEO lost his job. The company was forced to pay out $7 million in severance. And Yahoo’s employees lost a leader and direction.

Who was to blame for all this destruction? The CEO, of course. But also, to quote the Wall Street Journal, the "botched vetting" of the CEO by Yahoo’s Board of Directors who seem to have been in a rush to fill the position.

That’s a dramatic example of what can happen when we fail to heed the warning in today’s passage. The manager who hires too quickly is bound to hire a “fool.” She is “like an archer who wounds at random,” harming herself, the “fool” she hires, and the rest of her team.

How can we avoid being the archer today’s proverb is describing? Let me offer a coupl...

It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. (Proverbs 20:25)

How many times have you and I fallen into the “trap” this proverb is warning us against?

I’ve said “yes” to projects at work only to later renegotiate the deadline I could have never hit. I’ve agreed to volunteer at church only to grumble and complain about the commitment on Sunday morning.

Sound familiar?

You and I need practical ways to avoid the trap of saying “yes” too quickly and flippantly. Here are four practices that typically work for me.

#1: Delay every “yes” by at least 24 hours. It is really hard to say “no” if you feel pressured to give an answer to a request for your time the moment you’re asked. So, the next time you’re asked to dedicate your time to something, do whatever you can to delay responding for at least a day. Buy yourself some time by saying, “Let me sleep on it,” “Let me check with my spouse,” or “Let me check my calendar and current commitments and get back...

One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. (Proverbs 18:9)

There were many causes of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. But a culture of “slack” work was undeniably a contributing factor. In his book, Midnight in Chernobyl, Adam Higginbotham explains that:

The quality of workmanship at all levels of Soviet manufacturing was so poor that building projects…were forced to incorporate an extra stage known as ‘preinstallation overhaul.’ Upon delivery from the factory, each piece of new equipment—transformers, turbines, switching gear—was stripped down to the last nut and bolt, checked for faults, repaired, and then reassembled according to the original specifications, as it should have been in the first place.

That’s an extreme example of what Solomon says in today’s passage—namely that mediocre work “destroys.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that poor performance in your job is going to lead to a nuclear meltdown today. But it can absolutely destroy trust, relationship...

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans….In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps….The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:3, 9, 33)

In his terrific memoir, On Writing, novelist Stephen King says, “I used to tell interviewers that I wrote every day except for Christmas, the Fourth of July, and my birthday. That was a lie. I told them that because…I didn’t want to sound like a workaholic dweeb…The truth is that when I’m writing, I write every day…not working is the real work."

I deeply resonate with that last line for two reasons. First, because I (like you) love the work God has given me to do. Second, because rest is an act of faith—it’s a way of trusting that the world will keep spinning even if I’m not doing the spinning!

Yes, Scripture frequently commands us to hustle and work hard (see Colossians 3:23). But it also tells us to trust that it is God—not us—who produces r...

When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable, but one who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)

Hamilton might be the fastest-moving musical of all-time. Sung at an average of 144 words per minute, the show is more than twice the speed as average-paced productions like Phantom of the Opera, largely because of how much the show’s protagonist, Alexander Hamilton, has to say.

When Hamilton first meets Aaron Burr on stage, Burr is blown away by how much Hamilton can talk. So he offers Hamilton some free advice: “Talk less…Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead”—a not so subtle foreshadowing of the day Hamilton’s “many words” will lead Burr to kill him in history’s most infamous duel.

That’s a good, albeit dramatic, case study of what God is warning us about in Proverbs 10:19. I love how the New Living Translation renders today’s passage: “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”

We’d be wise to apply that advice to our work where “many word...