I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; 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 thief and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 24:30-34
I noticed this trend in my life a week or two back.
After a period of roughly four years spent diligently following the sound business advice offered in books like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, I dropped the ball.
It happened so quickly.
I was pursuing two new investment opportunities that were proving difficult to negotiate. Both appeared to have gotten stuck in the doldrums and they were simply not progressing. At the same time, day-to-day work responsibilities began to demand more and more of my energy and attention.
Before I even realized it, I had taken my attention off of my investment portfolio completely and focused all of my energy on work demands.
Then I was reminded of the passage in Proverbs 24:30-34. In this proverb, Solomon, the wise king of Israel observes something interesting. While walking past a vineyard and/or field, he notices that the ground is filled with thorns and weeds. Apart from that, the field’s stone wall is in ruins.
Solomon concludes that the field’s owner is lazy — a sluggard — or, at the very least, is a person who has no sense.
It became apparent to me that, as I focused all of my energy and attention on day-to-day work, I had stopped taking care of my property portfolio; my vineyard, so to speak. I was too tired and it was too hard. I was too busy with other things and work had become too demanding.
In short, I was too busy to give my ‘vineyard’ the attention it deserved. As a result, my new acquisitions were in the doldrums. Agents were billing me for superfluous services. Maintenance jobs were not being properly managed and my pipeline of new purchases was drying up.
The Field of a Sluggard
What would Solomon have to say about me if he saw the state of my investment portfolio at that point in time? He could reach only one conclusion; that it is the field of a sluggard, a vineyard of someone who has no sense.
The writer of this proverb would have concluded that I was lazy — and yet, I was busier than I had been in a long time. I had no excuse. Being busy in one area of my life did not give me a free pass to be lazy in another.
There was only one thing for it. I adjusted my mindset and refocused on my vineyard.