Mensa Otabil - Pains and Gains
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We’re looking this week at words of wisdom from the Book of Proverbs, and we are learning valuable lessons on how to construct and conduct our lives profitably. We are looking at Proverbs Chapter 14, and we are now looking at verse number four: «Where no oxen are, the trough is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of an ox.»
Everyone who has gone to the gym to work out, whether to lose weight or to build muscle, might have come across the phrase " no pain, no gain.» If you want to benefit from what you are in the gym for, you’re going to suffer for it; you’re going to work hard. You’re going to have muscle aches, lactic acid is going to build up in your muscles, and you will experience some pain, but that’s how you get your gain. That’s what this proverb is all about, and it’s built around the concept of an ox and its benefit to a farmer.
In ancient days, the ox was the most reliable source of strength and energy for the work of the farmer. The ox would help the farmer to plow his land so he could grow the seed, and even when it comes to harvest time, the ox would help to carry the harvest. So the ox was very important to the farmer, and the farmer who has an ox has an advantage over the one who has no ox.
However, taking care of the ox was a very difficult process. If you wanted to take care of your ox, first, the ox eats a lot. The trough is where you put the food for the ox, and it will eat a lot. Because they eat a lot, they also have a lot of waste to manage. So, if you took care of an ox, you would always be feeding it and always cleaning after it. The proverb says that the one who has no ox has a clean trough; there’s no problem. But if you really want strength, it’s going to come from the ox.
So you’re making a choice: you want the strength of the ox, and you also have to learn to take care of the discomfort that comes with owning an ox. No pain, no gain. In reality, nobody likes cleaning after an ox; nobody wants to work so hard to feed a system. But that’s what is required to build it, and that’s what life is all about.
The things that we want to gain in life come with some work, some discomfort, and some effort. Whether you want to build a good marriage, it’s going to come with a lot of pain, a lot of compromise, a lot of working through your problems, and a lot of forgiveness. If you want to build a company, it’s going to come through hard work; there will be times you don’t sleep. If you want to progress in your career, it’s going to come with study and a lot of work.
If you want to be a good footballer, you’re going to train very hard. If you want to be a boxer, you’re going to train very hard. Nothing good comes easy. You want the strength of the ox? Then you’re going to clean after the ox, and you’re going to feed the ox. Life is all about pains and gains; that’s what this proverb is teaching us.
It’s about hard work and benefit; it’s about hard work and gain. If you don’t want the hard work, then you’re not going to get the benefit that comes from it. Each one of us, every day, will have to be called upon to feed our ox, to clean after the ox so that we can benefit from its strength and allow it to plow for us and handle our harvest.
So consider all the things that you are involved in; look at all the hard work that is required and think of the benefit that comes from it. Bear the pain, be gracious in bearing the pain, because there will be gain in the end.
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you that through my toil and sweat, you cause me to increase abundantly. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.