- English translation
Once his belly is full, a man says that daily bread is God's business.
- Literal wording
The one who has eaten his fill in the morning says: provision is up to God.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying exposes how easy it is to sound pious and relaxed about livelihood once one's own hunger has been settled. A person who has eaten well this morning can afford to declare that sustenance lies in God's hands, because for today he has nothing left to chase.
It works as a gentle rebuke of complacency dressed up as trust, not a mockery of faith in God's provision itself. The comfortable may recast idleness as reliance on providence, while those still hungry feel the real pressure to earn. Contentment voiced from a full belly is treated as cheap.
- When it is used
Suitable for teasingly or critically pointing out someone who preaches trust in providence while their own needs are already covered, especially when they discourage effort or seem indifferent to people still struggling to get by. The target is the convenient posture, not faith itself.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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