After ten years of sorrow and hardship in which she lost her husband and her support system, God introduced Ruth to her new husband, Boaz. Where? In the field where she worked each day. Who was Boaz? The owner of the field. One of the things that attracted Boaz to Ruth was her work ethic. The servant in charge of his reapers told him, ‘She came and has continued from morning until now.’ As a result, she ended up married to the boss. That’s why the Bible has so much to say about the difference between laziness and hard work, sloppiness and excellence, lateness and punctuality, honesty and dishonesty, a positive attitude and a negative one. Someone is always observing you who is capable of blessing you. Read these three Scriptures: 1) ‘Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men’ (Proverbs 22:29 NKJV). 2) ‘The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich’ (Proverbs 13:4 NKJV). 3) ‘He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich’ (Proverbs 10:4 NKJV). Notice the phrases ‘a slack hand’ and ‘a lazy man’. By expecting much and giving back as little as possible in return, you don’t just short-change the company you work for, you short-change yourself. Why? Because God promises to honour you when you give your best. His Word says, ‘Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another’ (Psalm 75:6-7 KJV).  © 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.