Proverbs 20:12–13 (ESV)
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made them both.
13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
God has given each of us two remarkable gifts: ears that hear and eyes that see. He made them both, not merely for hearing sounds and seeing sights, but for growing in wisdom. The wise woman listens carefully to godly instruction. She does not allow God’s truth to enter one ear and leave through the other. Instead, she receives it with humility, believes it wholeheartedly, and obeys it.
Our seeing eye is equally important. God has given us eyes not only to see but to discern. The woman who walks in wisdom pays careful attention to what is happening around her. She looks beneath the surface and learns to distinguish wisdom from folly. Both our ears and our eyes are gifts from the Lord. He intends us to hear his Word, discern what is happening around us, and faithfully apply his truth to the unique circumstances he places before us.
The second proverb warns us not to waste those gifts through laziness. Sleep itself is a gift from God, but the one who loves sleep eventually comes to poverty. The sluggard always has another excuse, another reason to wait, another promise to start tomorrow. She continually chooses ease over responsibility until the opportunities God has placed before her have quietly slipped away. In contrast, the diligent woman rises to her work and enjoys the bread that faithful labor provides.
Take an honest look in your spiritual mirror. Are you using the ears and eyes God has given you? Do you listen carefully when his Word exposes your sin, or have familiar truths begun to lose their effect? Are you alert to the opportunities God places before you, or have you become content merely to agree with his Word without putting it into practice?
One of the greatest dangers for those who are in Christ is not simply loving sleep but loving comfort more than obedience. We tell ourselves there will be a better time to pray, serve, repent, or share the gospel. But that better time never comes on its own. God has given you today. Receive his Word with humility, then faithfully obey what he has already made clear.