Proverbs 6:10-11. 10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Poverty is a complex subject, isn’t it? What causes poverty? Why are some people poor and others wealthy? Our conservative friends may try to attach poverty to the work ethic a person. Like today’s proverb says, poverty comes upon the lazy, the slumberers. On the other hand, our more liberal friends might say that poverty comes from systemic issues, injustices, harmful policies. They may refer to this proverb to make their case:
Proverbs 13:23. The field of the poor may yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice.
You see, God won’t ever let us oversimplify things. There is never only one reason why things are the way they are. Does laziness cause poverty? Yes. Does injustice cause poverty? Yes. This is where wisdom comes in. Do you remember what wisdom is? It is skill in navigating the complexities of life. When looking at the poor and needy that surround us, do we automatically judge them as a sluggard? Or, on the other hand, do we automatically blame the wealthy for creating the systemic injustices that caused this poor person’s need?
On a personal level, laziness is a sin. Oversleeping is unwise. We shouldn’t be surprised when things are taken from us like a robber when we fail to work at them. We mustn’t be surprised when want holds us at knifepoint because we failed to pay attention to our own long term needs. According to Proverbs, poor planning, lack of diligence, too much talk, and low motivation all contribute to our personal poverty, or want.
Can the same be said of our spiritual poverty? What steals our joy, peace, and love like a robber? What takes away our faith like an armed man?
Is it not that we get lazy in regards to our spiritual growth? We let sin slide. We set aside the discipline of beholding the cross of Christ. We forsake the gathering of the saints. We have not because we ask not. We pursue the pleasures of this life over the pleasure of union with Christ, even in suffering. Suffering that Christ chose in order to save us. Jesus chose to be poor for us when he left heaven and came to earth. He became poor so that we might become rich. He gave up everything he had so that we could have everything through him.
Now we too can reject both physical and spiritual laziness and work to help the poor from love for all, knowing that Jesus has given us all of the riches of his glorious grace, therefore we have nothing to lose.
You: Are you financially poor? Spiritually poor? What is the role of laziness in each?
You in Christ: In Christ, you have all you need, all the riches of his grace. How does this allow you to pursue a life of hard work from Christ’s finished work?
Christ in you: Is there any area of your spiritual life where laziness has set in? How might you turn this over to the Christ in you to motivate diligence in you?
Pray: Jesus, thank you for becoming poor that I might become rich. Amen.
To Live is Christ 