Proverbs 12:10
"A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."
Oftentimes as a young teenager, my father would have me help him when he worked on cars. He was a mechanic before he went into the ministry; therefore, anytime someone needed some help with their vehicle, he would use his skill to save them money. There were also times he would do side jobs so he could pay the bills.
On many of these jobs my father would have me go with him to help work on the cars. I wasn't much of a help, but what I could do was hand him the tools he needed which helped him to fix the vehicle faster. When the job was done, my father would tell me to take a rag and clean all the tools before putting them back into the toolbox. He told me that the tools would last longer if they were cleaned. If I didn't properly clean a tool, he would pull it back out and tell me to clean it right.
Whether cleaning the tools really helped the tools last longer or not I don't know, but I do know my father was teaching me the importance of taking care of what I have. He understood that if I would properly take care of the tools, then I would take care of everything else that God would give to me. It wasn't just something to do on a whim; instead, it was my father instilling the character trait in me of taking care of things.
God says in the verse above, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast..." The beast was the tool a man used to plow their fields. Yes, I believe God is teaching us not to be cruel to animals, but I believe the greater principle God is teaching is that we should take care of our properties.
Several years ago, I listened to a man who owned several real estate investments talk about how he determined whether a person would take care of his property as a tenant. He said after they filled out the application to rent the property, he would walk them out to the car and shake their hands and thank them for applying. He said his purpose in walking them out to the car was to glance inside the car and see if it was clean or dirty and torn up. He said that if a person didn't care for their vehicle, then they wouldn't take care of his property. He determined whether to rent the property to them by how they cared for their own property.
Friend, I know this devotional may seem trivial, but your character is truly revealed by how you care for your property. If you won't take care of your physical properties, then you probably won't take care of the people in your life. Properly caring for your tools and physical properties is indicative of your character. If you're willing to care for the "little" things like tools, pets and property, then you will no doubt care for the people God has placed in your life.
Could I come to your house and see that you take care of your properties? Are you the one who always gives an excuse for how dirty your car is when someone rides with you? God commands us to regard the life of our beast. If you're one who lets these things slide, then I encourage you to start paying attention to these things and care for them.
I advise every parent reading this to teach your children the importance of caring for their toys and property. I warn every leader to pay close attention to those who don't care for their own property, as they will cost you time, money and even reputation with the products you produce. Always remember that if a person will take the time to care for their own property, then they will take care for the details of life that affect others.