“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.  Proverbs 10:16 NIV

Our righteous labors will result in wages that bring life and blessing, but the profit of the wicked leads to further sin and the resultant punishment.

And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. 33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.

Deuteronomy 28:29-34 NKJV

When you are rebellious and disobedient to the Lord, everything you have worked for and everything that is precious to you will become the property of others. You will become a slave to your enemy.

Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.

Deuteronomy 28:47-51 NIV

You must serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity. When you are blessed of the Lord, you must appreciate your blessing and continue to serve and honor Him with joy and gratitude. If you are ungrateful and unappreciative, you open a door for the enemy to destroy that for which you have worked so hard.

For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. 43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;

44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for–45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD.   Psalms 105:42-45 NIV

When you turn to the Lord, honor Him and remember Him, you will reap what others have sown. They will do the work, but because of their disobedience, you will benefit.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it. 14 I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;

They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. 15 I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.  Amos 9:13-15 NKJV

When you obey God, everything you put your hand to will prosper. You will be blessed with the fruit of your labor.

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”  1 Timothy 5:17-18 NIV

God’s plan is for you to get what you work for and to be blessed by your labors. Slavery is a result of disobedience, but every person should be able to enjoy what he or she deserves and to reap what he or she has sown.