Campus CrossWalk Magazine: 2007 Spring Issue -- Quotation Library: Honest Work

"In time you may perhaps find that most of the work of the world is done by people who aren't feeling very well." ~ Le Baron Russell Briggs.
"All work is as seed sown; it grows and spreads, and sows itself anew." ~ Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), On Boswell's Life of Johnson, 1832.
“The progress of human society consists ... in ... the better apportioning of wages to work." ~ Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Past and Present, 1843.
“A fair days wages for a fair day’s work: it is as just a demand as governed men ever made of governing.” ~ Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Past and Present, 1843.
“Don't open a shop unless you like to smile.” ~ Chinese Proverb.
“Dig a well before you are thirsty.” ~ Chinese Proverb.
“It is better to wear out than to rust out.” ~ Richard Cumberland.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~ Thomas Edison (1847-1931).
“Work as if you were to live 100 Years, Pray as if you were to die To-morrow.” ~ Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Poor Richard's Almanack, 1757.
“When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is duty, life is slavery.” ~ Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), The Lower Depths.
"Some regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. A few see it for what it really is–the strong and willing horse that pulls the whole cart along." ~ Alan Greenspan, on the role of the private sector in the U.S. economy.
“About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends.” ~ Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964), US President.
"When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." ~ Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967), American Industrialist.
"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe." ~ Attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” ~ Abraham Lincoln, as quoted by Ronald Reagan at the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas.
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt, Labor Day speech, 1903.
“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest.” ~ Adam Smith (1723-1790), Wealth of Nations, 1776.
“Men who do things without being told draw the most wages.” ~ Edwin H. Stuart.
“Whoever does not teach his son a trade or profession teaches him to be a thief.” ~ Talmud.
"If you can't out smart people, out work them." ~ Bill Veeck (1914-1986), author, baseball owner.

Inspired Insights

(Scripture passages listed generally in chronological order)

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." ~ Genesis 2:15.
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” ~ Proverbs 6:6-11.
“Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.” ~ Proverbs 10:2-4.
“From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.” ~ Proverbs 12:14.
“Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” ~ Proverbs 12:24.
“The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” ~ Proverbs 13:4.
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” ~ Proverbs 14:23.
“The laborer’s appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.” ~ Proverbs 16:26.
“A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.” ~ Proverbs 20:4.
“Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. ‘It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.” ~ Proverbs 20:13-14.
“An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.” ~ Proverbs 20:21.
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” ~ Proverbs 21:5.
“The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.” ~ Proverbs 21:25-26.
“The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!” or, “I will be murdered in the streets!” ~ Proverbs 22:13.
“Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings.” ~ Proverbs 22:29.
“I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” ~ Proverbs 24:30-34.
“He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” ~ Proverbs 28:19-20.
“She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.” ~ Proverbs 31:13-18.
“The laborer is worthy of his hire.” ~ Jesus, Luke 10:7.
“For each one should carry his own load.” ~ Paul, Galatians 6:5.
“He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” ~ Paul, Ephesians 4:28.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” ~ Paul, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12.
“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.” ~ Paul, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.
“The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” ~ Paul, 2 Timothy 2:6.