Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

As a part of my daily devotionals, I like to read a chapter in the book of Proverbs. I find these words of wisdom to be helpful to me in my every day life.

A proverb that has been on my mind lately is Proverbs 14:23. It says “There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.”

Here lately, I have noticed that there are quite a few people who don’t really want to work. I have seen several businesses run short handed, and some have even had to change their operating hours or close due to a lack of workers.

Proverbs 14:23 seems to warn against this lack of motivation and lack of desire to work.

As I contemplated this, I began to think about how hard work would affect other areas of our lives.Is this verse just for employment or is it a general principle that could be applied across the board?

Being an avid outdoorsman, I decided to apply it to my hunting season. I asked myself this question; how can hard work make my season more profitable and what should I work at the hardest?

Here is what I decided.

The hard work that will bring the most reward is going to be related to preseason preparation. Unfortunately, most of this work takes place when it is unbearably hot outside, which is why many hunters fail to get it done.

Since I am a bow hunter as well as a duck hunter, there are several things I have to prepare for.

First, both types of hunting are done from a blind. I need to work on all blinds making sure they are bee, ant, reptile and varmint free. I need to be sure to trim shooting lanes, while making sure there is still ample cover to conceal my movements from the game.

Second, I need to make sure all of my equipment is in good working order. I need to check the strings and cables on my compound bow, make sure the boat runs well, trailer lights are working and everything is current on tags and registration.

I should inspect my duck decoys and make sure they are untangled and in good working order. I need to check to make sure the ATV I will be using is running well.

In addition, if you have a deer or duck camp, be sure to do a preseason inspection and check to make sure there are no leaks and all appliances work as desired.

Next, since I used a dog to blood trail and retrieve my birds, I need to make sure my dog is in shape and tuned up ready for the hunt. This takes more than a minute, so I have already been working on this part.

Finally, I try to spend adequate time practicing my shooting skills. If everything else goes according to plan but I miss the shot, it doesn’t amount to much. My freezer will still be empty. Practice makes perfect, so I try to start shooting well enough in advance of the season to make sure I am proficient.

This is my list of top things to work on. Your list may be different than mine, but make no mistake, you should have a list.

Do you want a profitable season? If so, put in the hard work now!

Happy hunting and may God richly bless you!

 

Brian Johnson is pastor of First Baptist Church of Winnie, owner of DuckDogTrainer.com and writes about outdoors for Port Arthur Newsmedia.