As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. ~Proverbs 26:14
The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He will not even bring it back to his mouth. ~Proverbs 19:24 & 26:15
A sluggard does not plow in season. So, so at harvest time he looks and finds nothing. ~Proverbs 20:4
Do not love sleep or you will grow poor. Stay awake and you will have food to spare. ~Proverbs 20:13
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discretely. ~Proverbs 26:16
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
Am I the only one that finds it hard to get up when the alarm clock rings on Monday mornings? It can be a little bit of a struggle. It’s not bad, but I’d much rather sleep, in or wake up naturally, as I do on Saturdays. The slower pace of the weekend sure is nice.
Don’t you just love the imagery in the proverbs for today? “As a door turns on its hinges,” I’ll bet it’s a rusty, creaky hinge that makes a lot of noise as it turns too. Or, how about picturing the guy who buries his hand in the dish and is too lazy to take it out! I hope it’s not oatmeal or mashed potatoes. Yuck! “A sluggard does not plow in season. So, at harvest time he looks and finds nothing.” Chances are, he may be the only one who is surprised! I can just see him, standing in the middle of his sea of weeds, hands on hips and thinking, “Huh!” Of course, we all know what happened, even though he may not.
Earlier this year we used some similar passages to talk about lazy Christians and how they damage the church. However, we all know that there are those who are also prone to physical laziness. What about them? Again, we do need to clarify that we are not talking about those who either can’t work or can’t find work. We are talking about those who won’t work. What makes a person lazy? Well, perhaps they were not disciplined properly. Perhaps they never had to work or do chores as a kid. It is a real problem whatever the reason, especially for those dependent on him if he is supposed to be a provider for a family.
“The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discretely.” That is one of the difficulties. How do you talk someone out of being lazy? Paul’s solution is, don’t feed them. Well, that works, to a point, but it doesn’t necessarily change the heart to become one that wants to be a producer rather than a taker.
I was listening to a lecture once by a personal fitness trainer. He talked about how we all, as human beings have the desire to be comfortable, like the lazy man mentioned above, lying in bed and not even wanting to put out the effort to turn over! Well, the trainer didn’t quote the proverb, but he did say that he has observed that we prefer comfort to suffering. His point was, if you want to get healthy, and in shape, you have to accept the fact that you will suffer to accomplish your goal.
But it can be a tough sell to convince people that they need to walk three miles or start the day with stretches and calisthenics. So many products on the market today appeal to that lazy, comfort desiring, side of us that would rather pop a pill or drink a smoothy to reach that goal. But the promises in the products are illusive. There is a simple solution to staying healthy. It involves eating wisely and exercising, along with rest and down time, but too many resist it because it requires discomfort.
The lazy person loves being comfortable. They love it even more if others take on the responsibility for them. Our challenge is, how to respond. The serenity prayer begins with the words: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” First of all, we cannot change another person, we can only change ourselves. That means that we can only change our response to the lazy person.
In the case of a lazy person, we could stop taking on their responsibility, stop doing what they can do for themselves. Will it hurt? Yes! Oh, and they will complain about how mean you are! But in reality, that is not your problem. Then, we need to lean on God’s wisdom to know who needs our energy and help and who does not. That covers the part of the prayer that says: “the wisdom to know the difference.”
What we need to remember is, laziness is a sin. Perhaps it is more visible than our particular character flaw, but it’s the same in God’s eyes. There are no levels to sin in God’s eyes, where laziness, for example, is really bad, but anger is passable. All sin, laziness included, is disobedience to God, and as such, separates us from Him, because His Holiness prevents Him from living with our sin. And, just as he died for the other sins I commit, Christ died to forgive laziness too, when we repent of it and ask for forgiveness for it.
“Do not love sleep or you will grow poor. Stay awake and you will have food to spare.” So, I rise on Monday morning and take on the day, just like you. I want to bring Him glory with all I do. Today, I have a drive to Gaylord, lunch with my mother, two doctor appointments with her and hopefully, I’ll have her to Liz on time to do her hair. I need to put the garbage out for the church and, turn my pager on for the hospital at 1:00 PM. That’s a big chunk of my Monday today. I’m sure that you have a busy day too. Hopefully, we’re living it in obedience to Him. Remember the call: “All for God!”
Prayer: Thank You, Father for energy and good health to get up and get going! There is so much to do! Yes, I admit that part of me would rather sleep in and take another vacation. But in Jesus’ name I reject laziness and for the sake of the Your cause I accept my marching orders. Amen.
Song: Good Morning!
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