An Incentive to Work Prov. 16:26 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
What gave Carl Westcott, the American entrepreneur, an incentive to work was hunger and look where it took him.
Oftentimes the Bible gives a commentary on life that runs right across the grain of society. The Bible shows you a view that God has on a subject that is absolutely contrary to the world’s view – and that should not surprise you Jas 4:4, 1 Jn 2:15-17, 1 Cor 1:19-20 – now you need to hear what God has to say about something that is nearly sacred in our country – it’s a comment on food stamps and welfare.
You know why men have an incentive to work? They have the incentive to eat. If you take away a man’s hunger pains, you take away his basic incentive to work. Now there are times in temporary circumstances where a fellow gets down on his luck and he needs a temporary hand. It’s nice for him to have a place to get back up on his feet – but that’s not the way the system works.
A great uncle of mine asked me to drive him by the Star of Hope mission in Houston back in 1980 – he said as we approached the mission, “If the men standing in line for a meal there are young, we’re sunk.” They were young. With our current national debt, the country cannot go on feeding everybody without going broke. When we were preaching at the Manhattan Bar in Beeville, young men married and plenty capable of work were there drinking beer at 10:30 in the morning on a week day – there may have been special circumstances but really there is too much of that kind of thing going on.
Paul was well aware of the free loaders – I Thes 4:11; 2 Thes 3:10-12 (look at 13-15); Eph 4:28; and even widows 1 Tim 5:11-15 (they need to be widows indeed 9-10).
So, if you are on a free ride, get off of it as quickly as you can – if you are burdened by some one who is on a free ride quit feeling guilty about having to do something to help them – let them get on their own two feet and get going for themselves and don’t feel guilty about not helping them – they won’t start working until they get hungry.