Proverbs 10:4 says,

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

What makes one person lazy and another diligent? Does the lazy person really not want to accomplish anything? Where does the drive of the diligent come from? I know I’ve certainly had my battles with laziness before so I’m certainly not an expert on this. That being said, I think I have a pretty good understanding as to where the diligence I do have comes from.

Vision. A picture of a preferable tomorrow. The clearer my vision is when it comes to finances, marriage, parenting and my relationship with God, the more diligent that I find myself in those areas. Diligence means doing the hard things now so that I can enjoy the benefits later on. The only way to make those kinds of sacrifices is to see what you’re sacrificing for. The only way to see what you’re sacrificing for is vision. I would argue that the weaker the vision inside a person, the weaker his or her motivation to get things done.

How strong is your vision for the future? How clearly can you see that preferable tomorrow? How much tension does that picture create with the reality of today? This is where diligence comes from.