Once upon a time, there were four farmers who lived beside each other:
Farmer Fraidy, Farmer Flaky, Farmer Fancy, and Farmer Focused.
Out of all these Farmers, only Farmer Focused had a huge harvest every year.
Fraidy, Flaky, and Fancy always had very tiny harvests. Let me tell you why.
Farmer Fraidy
Farmer Fraidy doesn't plant too many seeds. Why?
He's filled with fear. He's afraid that the seeds won't grow. Or if they grow, they won't bear fruit. Or if they bear fruit, no one will buy the fruit.
He imagines the worst scenario.
He's paralyzed by the question, "What if?" Such as, "What if there's a storm that will destroy my crops?
What if there's a bug infestation? What if there's an alien invasion?"
He entertains his fears so much, he plants very little seeds.
Because of that, he has very little harvest.
Farmer Flaky
On the other hand, Farmer Flaky plants a lot of seeds but he's distracted.
He goofs off in the middle of the season. He spends a lot of time on Facebook. He plays video games.
He watches all kinds of telenovels - Korean, Mexican, and Martian. He goes off to Hong Kong to eat xiao long bao.
In short, he neglects the farm. Many of the crops don't grow.
Farmer Fancy
This guy farms in the wrong way.
He chooses the wrong seed, tills the soil in the wrong way, and harvests them in the wrong way, too.
When other farmers give him suggestions on how to improve, he doesn't listen. He's simply too proud.
And that's why his harvest is very small.
Evaluation
WE NEED TO TAKE A HARD LOOK ON WHY OUR HARVEST ARE SMALL.
According to the Book of Proverbs, there are three possible reasons why we experience lack in our financial life.
And the three farmers above represent these reasons.
Study this hard-hitting verse: "The lazy man won't go out and work. 'There might be a lion outside!' he is too tired even to lift his food from his dish to his mouth! Yet in his own opinion he is smarter than seven wise men"
(Proverbs 26:13-16 TLB).
Let me unpack it for you...
Reason 1: Fear
The first part says, "The lazy man won't go out and work. 'There might be a lion outside!' he says"
(Proverbs 26:13, TLB).
Fear grips Farmer Fraidy.
Laziness is already mentioned, but the example given was about fear. It says that he doesn't want to go out because of a lion.
We all have an imaginary lion in our lives.
From experience, Believe it's uncertainty. All change is terrifying because it's unfamiliar.
This is the chilling truth: Some people would prefer the certainty of their present poverty rather than the uncertainty of their future prosperity. Sad but real.
Reason 2: Laziness
Farmer Flaky is imprisoned by laziness.
The next verse describe this paralysis: "He sticks to his bed like a door to its hinges!
He is too tired even to lift his food from his dish to his mouth!" (Proverbs 26:14-15, TLB).
Who says the Bible is boring? This verse is so funny. It gives you the height of laziness: There's already food on his plate, yet he's too tired to lift his spoon to his mouth.
Absurd? Not really. Look around you. So many are surrounded by wonderful opportunities to grow themselves. Yet they don't lift their spoon. Instead, they want to be spoon-fed like babies.
Reason 3: Pride
The next verse gives us the third reason for lack:
"Yet in his own opinion he is smarter than seven wise men" (Proverbs 26:16, TLB).
This is Farmer Fancy.
I see this all the time. Proud people will never succeed because they're unteachable. They don't want anyone. It's a perfect recipe for disaster.
Humility is so underrated. I believe humility is the mother of all virtues and the mother of all real success.
And from experience, pride is rooted in insecurity.
Farmer Focused, comes in. He's the only one who has a huge harvest because he practices all of them.
Farmer Focused
One day, the four farmers had lunch together.
Farmer Fraidy was the first one to speak. He asked, "Farmer Focused, you planted a lot of seeds. I didn't because of my fears. How do you get rid of your fears? I'm overwhelmed with my fears, I end up paralyzed."
Farmer Focused said, "Who says I got rid of my fears? My motto in life has always been, 'Do it afraid.'"