Proverbs Chapter 14

Proverbs 14:4
"Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox."

In the 1984 movie, "The Karate Kid", Daniel Larusso begs Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate. Mr. Miyagi finally agrees and starts Daniel on a series of work projects that needed to be accomplished. Wax on, wax off. Sand the floor. Paint the fence. Paint the house. Daniel becomes frustrated with doing these menial tasks. He wants to learn karate not be a slave for Mr. Miyagi! One day he’s had enough. He’s quitting. His shoulder is stuck and his muscles are sore. Mr. Miyagi fixes his shoulder and proceeds to show him how these dull, boring and difficult tasks have helped him develop muscle memory for use in karate blocking techniques. Daniel blocks several punches and kicks thrown at him by Miyagi and learns a valuable lesson. Unknowingly Daniel learned the truth of Proverbs 14:4. The "crib needed a lot of cleaning". It was hard. Day in and day out the tasks had to be done. But in the end he realized the "increase given by the strength of the ox". He reaped a harvest of foundational karate skills.

Having an ox is a lot of hard work. We must feed it. We must clean up after it. We care for it’s health, mend the harness and fix the plow. But we do all of this so that we can plant and reap much more than we feed the ox. We do it so we can use the ox manure to fertilize our soil which again increases the harvest. We care for it’s health and keep our equipment in good shape so it’s all ready to work when it’s time for planting and harvesting.

The life lesson here is easy to understand but not so easy to do. God often calls upon us to do "hard things". The tasks are tedious, boring and difficult. But He is a wise farmer. He knows the harvest that lies ahead. He knows the blessings that are in store for us tomorrow if we will but "clean the crib" today. We train up our children in the ways of the Lord today and tomorrow we see children who are strong in the faith. We study hard in school today, even when the subject is boring and seems useless, but tomorrow we reap the benefit of that work ethic in our chosen career. We do the boring, routine maintenance on that old car today and reap the benefit of more dependable miles before it has to be replaced or have major repairs.

The list could go on and on but the point is this... You must do the hard things today in order to reap the benefits tomorrow. There will always be a harvest. It may not be what you expected it to be but God is faithful. He has a plan for your life. He has great blessings in store for you. Whatever the increased harvest is you can be sure it will include this one fruit. It will always develop in you a more Christ-like character. And that in itself is worth all the crib cleaning, car waxing, floor sanding and fence painting you are called upon to do. May God bless you as you "clean your ox’s crib" today.