Ecclesiastes 11.4 says, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”
As I meditated on this exhortation to diligence from Ecclesiastes, I thought of six types of men who are not living as Diligent Men. There are three categories, each containing two sub-types. And they are all contrary to Christian diligence.
Here are some reasons that one might be looking at the wind and regarding the clouds:
Category 1. Paralysis by Analysis
Sub-type A: The Anxious Man—he is fearful about what might happen.
Sub-Type B: The Academic Man—he is just about philosophy, not action.
The Anxious Man needs the proverbial come to Jesus moment, something akin to Joshua meeting the Commander of God’s army at the beginning of his tenure as the leader of Israel. The Anxious Man needs to encounter the Sovereign Lord who calls him to fear not, and be anxious for nothing. He needs to cast his burdens on Jesus. He needs the Spirit of God to fortify his spine. As CS Lewis would say it, he needs a chest.
The Academic Man needs to hear the call of James: “be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer of it.” The Academic Man needs to come to grips with the fact that God made a world for us to live in it, and we are to act upon the world. Knowledge is to be experiential. Knowledge is to be applied and tested as we take dominion.
Category 2. Pummeled by Obstacles
Sub-Type A: The Irresolute Man—he lacks the will, the guts.
Sub-Type B: The Impotent Man—he lacks the way, the strength—the guns, meaning the strength or physical muster.
The Irresolute man must submit his will to Christ. And even when he does not feel like doing the thing that he must do, he must do it. He must ask the Holy Spirit to properly orient his heart, so that he might operate correctly. And he must do this again and again to renew and build up his will by God's grace. The will is like a muscle to be exercised and strengthened. The Lord is good to us as we repent and do the good works he has set before us.
The Impotent man must understand that first and foremost, true strength is found in the Lord. And yet, if he lacks the physical strength necessary to fulfill his role as a husband, father, brother, or laborer, and if it is within his grasp to attain it, he must pursue it.
Certainly, there are limitations. There can be providential hindrances that occur. That's not what I am talking about. We're talking about a normative circumstance in which a man has a job to do, and it requires physical potency to some degree. And he could have the strength required by way of diligence, and yet he is lacking. And the good news is: being refreshed by God's grace, he can get after it. He can apply himself anew, and the Lord can even restore what the locusts of his own neglect have devoured.
Category 3. Perusing for Signs
Sub-Type A: The Idle Man—he is making excuses to not work.
Sub-Type B: The Ignorant Man—he is blind to how revelation works.
The Idle Man has a moral problem. He is waiting for an invitation that will never come. And he’s doing it on purpose to avoid the challenge of sowing and reaping. He’s testing disobeying God. He does not deserve to eat. He has a willful posture of avoidance. He needs to repent of his misplaced and disoriented affections and desires, because his heart has wandered away from the Lord. Or he needs a totally new heart. Perhaps, his heart never belonged to God at all. And the Spirit alone can get ahold of this Sluggard, who is basically using God’s name in vain to excuse inactivity.
The Ignorant Man has a mentor problem. He does not need God to speak from heaven to command sowing and reaping: God communicated that through nature. The created order works as God intended it to, but this brother has been either never trained, or he is woefully misinformed. He’s waiting for God to speak from the heavens, when God’s creation is shouting at the man from beneath his feet. He needs someone to come alongside him to correct him and instruct him. God uses mentors and fellow Christians to correct our thinking and help us get going in life. This man needs that. He thinks he should be perusing the sky when he should be plowing a field. God’s providence is at work when this man gets the mentor he needs.
The Diligent Man knows when to sow and when to reap. He knows his limits—he can’t sort it all out. He has to sow, and he has to reap when it’s time. He knows he will face obstacles. He knows that God has already given the signs through natural order, and he doesn’t overthink it—he is a doer. He readies. He aims. He fires. The rest is up to God.
We should evaluate ourselves for cloud-gazing and wind-watching, and then, if necessary, we diagnose why we do it. If we find ourselves deficient in diligence, we are to repent, and I would recommend that part of this repentance is seeking the guidance of a parent or church elder to help give you practical, biblical counsel on how to grow in diligence.