Working Your Land
Shownotes
Are you working your land, or just staying busy? A man earns his reward by faithfully working what God gave him, not by chasing what looks good from a distance.
Yesterday’s episode was about the hidden foundation that holds a man steady. Today is about the daily work that foundation is meant to support. Solomon puts it bluntly: work your land and you eat; chase worthless things and you go hungry. Chris points out that “your land” means something specific. It’s the work God assigned to you: your family, your calling, your responsibilities, your relationships. Plenty of men hustle in twenty directions and neglect the one field that belongs to them.
A man who chases fantasies is just a dreamer with good excuses. In the original language, the worthless pursuits Solomon describes are vapors and illusions, things that look substantial but weigh nothing. Solomon’s verdict is that this man lacks sense. He doesn’t lack ambition or vision. He lacks the practical wisdom to tell what’s real from what isn’t. Every man faces some version of this temptation: a get-rich-quick scheme instead of slow, steady building, a new idea before the last one is finished, a fantasy of a different life instead of investing in the one he has, or endless scrolling instead of creating. The rooted man doesn’t ignore what’s stressing him. He faces it and goes back to work on his land.
Verse of the Day: Proverbs 12:11 (ESV)
Your Daily Man-Up Challenge
Name your land. Write down honestly the specific responsibilities God has given you that deserve your best. Then name the worthless pursuit that has been pulling your focus away from them. Make one concrete decision today to put that energy back where it belongs.
NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?
Welcome!
The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.
Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle.
Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.
Join us every weekday to man up!
MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY
Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including:
My Morning Devotional
The Family Business with The Alessis
The Mary and Martha Show
You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!