One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. ~Proverbs 18:9
I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the one who lacks judgment. Thorns had come up everywhere. The ground was covered with weeds and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I had learned and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. ~Proverbs 24:30-34
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. ~Ephesians 4:28
One of our kids’ favorite book characters from when they were young was from the Weekly Reader Sweet Pickle series. Her name was Goof Off Goose. She was an expert at avoiding responsibility. She always had a reason for why she deserved a day off, from everything: housework, exercise, anything. If it looked like work, you could count on Goof Off Goose to find a reason to not do it. She even forgot to put her ice cream away and had an excuse to delay cleaning up the resulting mess. She was a lovable character that everyone had to work around. I will say, however, she did usually manage to invite herself to parties. Of course!
When we say, “Lazy,” we are not talking about a person who would love to work but can’t find a job. We are describing a person who has no desire to work, even for their own benefit. They can be hard people to be around because they appear to be so much wasted potential. They aren’t even interested in taking care of themselves, so tending a garden, or laundry, or employment does not motivate them.
True, there are those who may have mental disorders that display these characteristics, but let’s face it, there are those who just aren’t interested in applying themselves. From the outside, we see wasted potential, but there is more to it than that. What they may not see is just how destructive their laziness is, not just to themselves, but to everything around them.
We wish we could motivate them, or we wish they would change, but until they want to be motivated and until they want to change they remain in the category of the serenity prayer that says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” You can’t change a lazy person. So, I’ve probably got all of you in agreement about the tragedy of the life of a lazy person.
What if, however, we changed from talking about the physical to the spiritual? What about lazy Christians? Aren’t they a tragedy too? I often talk about Biblical illiteracy being one of the biggest challenges of our modern church. It’s true! What else is true is the fact that there is no excuse for it. The Bible is the most sold, but least read, book in America. There are plenty of churches and plenty of pastors who would love to help with understanding, but it seems to be a low priority for fitting into the schedule. Other things are more important, which is reminiscent of yesterday’s topic.
In truth, the lazy Christian does as much damage to the church spiritually as the physically lazy person does to the rest of their life. When a person doesn’t even want to try to put in the effort to read or understand scripture, they are easily led astray by whims of false doctrine that weaken the church. They don’t know what the Bible says, or where to find what it says because they don’t spend any time with it, not because they can’t read, but because sometimes, it’s work and they find excuses to avoid the work of growth the same as Goof Off Goose found excuses not to bother to clean up the mess made by the melted ice cream.
Just like the other characters in the town of Sweet Pickles had to find ways of working around Goof Off Goose, committed Christians have to find work arounds in the church. At least in Sweet Pickles, there was only one Goof Off Goose, but in the church, there seems to be a growing number of people who don’t want to do the hard work of learning and growing and serving. This means that work arounds are becoming more and more impossible and instead, we are dealing with gaps that are too many and too far apart to work a connection anymore.
What will happen when they have to stand up and give a reason for the hope that is within them? Do they have a reason, or is their only reason culture? How do they know what pleases the Lord and what doesn’t when they don’t even know why they should care?
There is an interesting event relayed in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34, about the fourth to the last king of Israel. His name was Josiah. Jeremiah was the main prophet that spoke for God during his reign. Josiah became king when he was 8 years old. When he was around 20, he began seriously restoring the temple for worship and removing all the other altars that people had erected to worship idols.
During the renovations, the priests found a copy of the book of the Law. It had been missing for many years. Evidently, it had been neglected long enough that nobody could remember the last time they saw it or where it was put away. When it was discovered during renovations, it was probably under something, in a dark unused corner of the building that hadn’t been tended to for decades. Anyway, they looked into it and read some of it and read some of it to the king and, they were shocked at what it said because by reading it, they became aware of how badly they were following God’s commands.
This would be equivalent to us cleaning the church, maybe emptying all the boxes on all the shelves in the storage area across from the elevator in the basement. And lo and behold, a strange book no one had seen in years and no one could remember how it got there. You open the cover and in big letters you see “BIBLE.” Then one of the cleaners exclaims, “Wait a second! I know what this is! I remember my grandma telling me about the Bible. This is important! Let’s go show pastor!”
Do you realize that the Reformation happened because Martin Luther read the Bible in a day when even priests only read commentaries and never opened the actual Bible for themselves?
In Israel, the temple had been sustained through their traditions, sacrifices, and festivals, but because they had lost track of God’s Word, they had drifted and had little clue why they did what they did any more. I think the same thing is happening in many churches today. We are defined by our traditions, the music we like, and what we don’t, we know what we want to see, and what we don’t, but God’s Word, that puts meaning behind everything that we do, is being lost to the hearts of too many attenders today.
Just as with the children of Israel, it was hard work to keep up with God’s Word. It was then and is now easier to drift, to be busy about other things that interest us and assume that others are keeping track of the study, seeking, understanding and prayer. The religiously lazy people of Israel were sent into exile in Babylon for their neglect. What will our consequence be if we do not heed the call to get down to work and take God’s Word seriously while we still can?
Prayer: Oh Lord, I want to study as one seeking Your approval, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Forgive me any laziness and help me work it out of me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Holy Bible, Book Divine
I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the one who lacks judgment. Thorns had come up everywhere. The ground was covered with weeds and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I had learned and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. ~Proverbs 24:30-34
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. ~Ephesians 4:28
One of our kids’ favorite book characters from when they were young was from the Weekly Reader Sweet Pickle series. Her name was Goof Off Goose. She was an expert at avoiding responsibility. She always had a reason for why she deserved a day off, from everything: housework, exercise, anything. If it looked like work, you could count on Goof Off Goose to find a reason to not do it. She even forgot to put her ice cream away and had an excuse to delay cleaning up the resulting mess. She was a lovable character that everyone had to work around. I will say, however, she did usually manage to invite herself to parties. Of course!
When we say, “Lazy,” we are not talking about a person who would love to work but can’t find a job. We are describing a person who has no desire to work, even for their own benefit. They can be hard people to be around because they appear to be so much wasted potential. They aren’t even interested in taking care of themselves, so tending a garden, or laundry, or employment does not motivate them.
True, there are those who may have mental disorders that display these characteristics, but let’s face it, there are those who just aren’t interested in applying themselves. From the outside, we see wasted potential, but there is more to it than that. What they may not see is just how destructive their laziness is, not just to themselves, but to everything around them.
We wish we could motivate them, or we wish they would change, but until they want to be motivated and until they want to change they remain in the category of the serenity prayer that says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” You can’t change a lazy person. So, I’ve probably got all of you in agreement about the tragedy of the life of a lazy person.
What if, however, we changed from talking about the physical to the spiritual? What about lazy Christians? Aren’t they a tragedy too? I often talk about Biblical illiteracy being one of the biggest challenges of our modern church. It’s true! What else is true is the fact that there is no excuse for it. The Bible is the most sold, but least read, book in America. There are plenty of churches and plenty of pastors who would love to help with understanding, but it seems to be a low priority for fitting into the schedule. Other things are more important, which is reminiscent of yesterday’s topic.
In truth, the lazy Christian does as much damage to the church spiritually as the physically lazy person does to the rest of their life. When a person doesn’t even want to try to put in the effort to read or understand scripture, they are easily led astray by whims of false doctrine that weaken the church. They don’t know what the Bible says, or where to find what it says because they don’t spend any time with it, not because they can’t read, but because sometimes, it’s work and they find excuses to avoid the work of growth the same as Goof Off Goose found excuses not to bother to clean up the mess made by the melted ice cream.
Just like the other characters in the town of Sweet Pickles had to find ways of working around Goof Off Goose, committed Christians have to find work arounds in the church. At least in Sweet Pickles, there was only one Goof Off Goose, but in the church, there seems to be a growing number of people who don’t want to do the hard work of learning and growing and serving. This means that work arounds are becoming more and more impossible and instead, we are dealing with gaps that are too many and too far apart to work a connection anymore.
What will happen when they have to stand up and give a reason for the hope that is within them? Do they have a reason, or is their only reason culture? How do they know what pleases the Lord and what doesn’t when they don’t even know why they should care?
There is an interesting event relayed in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34, about the fourth to the last king of Israel. His name was Josiah. Jeremiah was the main prophet that spoke for God during his reign. Josiah became king when he was 8 years old. When he was around 20, he began seriously restoring the temple for worship and removing all the other altars that people had erected to worship idols.
During the renovations, the priests found a copy of the book of the Law. It had been missing for many years. Evidently, it had been neglected long enough that nobody could remember the last time they saw it or where it was put away. When it was discovered during renovations, it was probably under something, in a dark unused corner of the building that hadn’t been tended to for decades. Anyway, they looked into it and read some of it and read some of it to the king and, they were shocked at what it said because by reading it, they became aware of how badly they were following God’s commands.
This would be equivalent to us cleaning the church, maybe emptying all the boxes on all the shelves in the storage area across from the elevator in the basement. And lo and behold, a strange book no one had seen in years and no one could remember how it got there. You open the cover and in big letters you see “BIBLE.” Then one of the cleaners exclaims, “Wait a second! I know what this is! I remember my grandma telling me about the Bible. This is important! Let’s go show pastor!”
Do you realize that the Reformation happened because Martin Luther read the Bible in a day when even priests only read commentaries and never opened the actual Bible for themselves?
In Israel, the temple had been sustained through their traditions, sacrifices, and festivals, but because they had lost track of God’s Word, they had drifted and had little clue why they did what they did any more. I think the same thing is happening in many churches today. We are defined by our traditions, the music we like, and what we don’t, we know what we want to see, and what we don’t, but God’s Word, that puts meaning behind everything that we do, is being lost to the hearts of too many attenders today.
Just as with the children of Israel, it was hard work to keep up with God’s Word. It was then and is now easier to drift, to be busy about other things that interest us and assume that others are keeping track of the study, seeking, understanding and prayer. The religiously lazy people of Israel were sent into exile in Babylon for their neglect. What will our consequence be if we do not heed the call to get down to work and take God’s Word seriously while we still can?
Prayer: Oh Lord, I want to study as one seeking Your approval, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Forgive me any laziness and help me work it out of me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Holy Bible, Book Divine
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