Diligence

The book of Proverbs uses several hunting metaphors in order to impart wisdom. For example, “The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.” (12.27).  The lesson here is that those who are too lazy to hunt will obviously have no meat to roast, but those who are diligent and willing to put the necessary time and effort into hunting will get “precious wealth.”  In this context, “precious wealth” refers to an abundant harvest of game animals.  Here, the writer of Proverbs uses a common metaphor that references something with which his readers would have been familiar – hunting – in order to teach them godly wisdom.  In doing so, diligence in hunting in order to obtain food is represented positively. 

I chuckle when I think about this verse from Proverbs, as I’ve seen it played out in my own hunting experiences numerous times.  If you’re a hunter, you know that the hunting process often involves a significant amount of challenge (read: misery).  The topography of the land that must be hiked to get to the hunting grounds, the rain and snow that make one wet and miserable, the cold that seems to chill to the bones, the early hours at which one must awake in order to find game; all of these present enough serious challenge to hunters that sometimes we are inclined to just sleep in and stay where it’s warm. 

Recently I was on a bear hunting trip with three friends, in which we camped in tents in a valley in a northern locale.  The hunt was scheduled to last 14 days (assuming we didn’t harvest a bear in less time than that).  All 14 of those days were to be spent in a tent in temperatures that did not exceed 45 degrees during the day, and got down to as low as 25 degrees during the nights.  To say it was difficult would be an understatement.  Miserable would be more accurate.  We were never separated from our winter jackets and hats, and each day there was either snow or rain that saturated our garments and made us cold.  The hike to the hunting ground each day was over rough and steep terrain that made us sweat and soak our clothes which, once we had stopped moving, chilled us to the bone.  Although we all were eager to participate in the hunt, the miserable conditions made us question our decision making, and our sanity. 

This is where the truth of Proverbs 12.27 comes in: in spite of our misery, we would often remind each other that we weren’t going to shoot a bear from our warm, dry tents in our sleeping bags.  Diligence was required.  We had to overcome the difficulty brought about by the weather and other conditions in order to obtain “precious wealth.”  I often remind my son of this whenever it’s difficult to wake him up in the early hours of the morning for a deer or turkey hunt: “You’re not going to shoot one from bed!”

Hunting reminds us to pursue diligence, both in the pursuit of animals and in success in life.  In general, the more we try, the more we will succeed and achieve.  So don’t let the cold temperatures and early hours dissuade you.  Get out of bed and get into the woods.

Excerpt from "A Glorious Arrangement: Christian thoughts on hunting, fishing, and creation" by Joel Detlefsen