4 A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
We should note the juxtaposition between righteousness in 2 and 3 and hard work in 4 and 5. The true spiritual life of righteousness, in other words, has a down-to-earth ethical content. Nowhere in Scripture is indolence ever countenanced in the life of the believer. The righteousness which is of God by faith is one that produces an integrity of life in a man, and one of the things this means is that a man who names the name of Christ will not at any time be a slacker at his work. The saying in 5a is paralleled in modern terms by the idea of 'making hay while the sun shines'. Industriousness is the keynote. Where laziness is present, faith is in that measure unreal. These words have much to say to our present industrial difficulties, slackness, shoddy workmanship, deteriorating standards, idleness in working time - these are the known problems in so many sectors; and while bigger and bigger pay packets are the order of the day, such attitudes bring impoverishment to the nation, in reputation abroad as well as in balance of payments deficits. The real problem that faces Britain is not the colour of its politics; the issues are moral, and will be met and solved only by a new spirit and a will to work. The blessings of sheer integrity (6) would do more to bring a spirit of contentment and well- being than any number of material advances - and these are the enduring realities (7): men of such character who have left their mark on the nation's life in the past are still remembered and venerated - like Shaftesbury or Wilberforce. It is the evil and unprincipled whose names disappear and are forgotten.