“In the morning, sow your seed and in the evening do not cause your hand to rest, for you do not know which one will succeed — this or that — or if both ones will be good.”

(Ecclesiastes 11:6)

In short…”Get while the getting is good.” When I was taught to garden, I was always taught to plant 2-3 seeds together at a time to ensure that at least one would germinate. If they all sprout, you can separate them out or you can just thin them out. When you have a good day to plant, you make the most of the day. I am told that the best and worst invention for the farmers were headlights for their tractors so they could continue working after dark. In this part of the country, nowadays, it is common to see farmers out into the late hours of the night working the fields, whether planting or harvesting, because there is no guarantee that tomorrow’s weather will be suitable to do so. 

In my days as a residential carpet installer, September-December was our busiest season and there was as much work as any of us might want and then more. My wife would sometimes joke that we were like passing ships in the night during those times as I often took two jobs during the day and one at night — sometimes working until well after midnight only to get back up at 5AM the next day. Yet, January through March brought a lull and I would often spend days or even weeks without consistent work. The principle is the same — you get as much out of the day as you can and you don’t put things off if you can do them now.

This is as much a spiritual truth as it is a practical truth. How often do we see our Bible study and prayer as being a lower priority during the day? How often, when we have a little time to spare, that we just turn on the television for some mindless entertainment? Would it not be more productive to read or watch a sound program about the Bible? Would it not be more productive to write someone a letter who is suffering. I am not saying that leisure time is a bad thing, but it seems like our culture pursues leisure time above all else — it is a Brave New World indeed!

Loved ones, work at the tasks that God has put before you and at the calling he has given you. Do not think that with the setting of the sun comes a time to put down all things you must do, but instead, labor into the night to complete those tasks because tomorrow may not permit you to do so. This is true in the physical world and this is true of our spiritual needs as well.