An inquirer on Quora was probing into the reason why there are so many homeless people in California. As at February 2022, Los Angeles had a record of 63,706 homeless persons, second only to New York with 77,943 persons. Someone who was trying to solve the riddle painted a graphic picture of what he saw one day. A man wearing a disheveled look stood outside begging. As soon as he made some money, he went inside and slotted in $500 into the gambling machine without winning any stake. He soon returned outside to start begging all over again. The point here is that when people are in a hurry to make some quick break, they run themselves into bankruptcy.

“The timeless avenue to increase is productive labour practiced over a long period of time…His blessing on the works of our hands is what produces enduring wealth with attendant peace of mind.”

We live in an age where people are in a hurry to have a big break financially. That has led to so many questionable or outright dubious practices. In our clime here, this is why we have the “Yahoo” plague, kidnapping, prostitution and other vices. God’s word is clear about this. Those who hastily go after wealth will forfeit their innocence. “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 28:20 NKJV). In addition, our text spells it out that there is no blessed end to an inheritance gained hastily. The prodigal son is an eloquent testimony of this fact. He asked for his inheritance prematurely, but he lost it all and was later reduced to the level of pigs. The timeless avenue to increase is productive labour practiced over a long period of time. That was how God blessed the patriarchs; and it is how He is blessing people today. His blessing on the works of our hands is what produces enduring wealth with attendant peace of mind.