“The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.” Proverbs 12:27

Because he was not diligent, the slothful man allowed something he already possessed to slip through his fingers. The problem was not that he had no possessions. He just did not value the possession enough to deal with it in proper time. Perhaps he thought there would be plenty of time later, but when later came, a thief had come and stolen his catch. The universal complaint of our day is that life is incredibly busy. And it is true. Days become weeks and weeks become years seemingly in the blink of an eye. Because of the rapid nature of life, it is vital that we look for and take advantage of each moment to deal with the possessions that we have. The moments are there. The key is to avoid wasting those moments with meaningless activity. As a father of teenagers, this truth is close to my heart. Last night was a rare moment when only our oldest daughter was home with us. I had several pressing deadlines and was also weary. I was tempted to go to bed early or read a book. But something about the moment seemed too important to pass up. So, my wife and I went for a walk with our daughter. It was a sweet time of conversation, discussing her changing world and the opportunities and pitfalls of the future. More significantly, at the end of the day, I knew that this had been a moment that had not slipped out of my hand. May God give us the insight to value and deal with the possessions we have in the moments we have.