Proverbs 13:4. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Do you remember what a sluggard is? A sluggard is someone who refuses to work hard at anything. The sluggard likely does the bare minimum, just enough to get by. But Solomon is warning that the sluggard is a person who is never really satisfied. The sluggard craves good things but they can never work hard enough to get them. The problem for the sluggard is not that they don’t start things, it’s that they don’t finish things. They don’t see things through to the end where satisfaction awaits.
In our western culture, we are told that to be satisfied and accomplished in life you simply need to follow your heart. Believe in yourself and all your dreams will come true. But this is a million miles from the truth. People aren’t successful at things only because they had a dream. They are successful because they worked very hard to see that dream come true. In his book Outliers, author Malcom Gladwell talks about the “ten thousand hour rule.” That is, for anyone to be really good at something they must spend at least 10,000 hours doing it. Of course on top of that there are dozens of other contingencies that contribute to why a person may achieve great success at something.
So there is no one formula for success. But there is one thing that we know for sure will prevent success – sluggardliness. This is a character flaw that creates an aversion to hard work that is deeply connected to desire. This proverb warns us about the connection of craving to laziness. The sluggard is not only lazy, they are discontent. They crave things that are too far removed from where they are. The immediate desire is so far out of reach that when it is not easily attained the sluggard quits. They crave and get nothing because their craving is too distant. By contrast the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. This person has found satisfaction in the day to day hard work. The work is its own reward. They have found satisfaction along the journey, not just in the destination.
Christ wants us to find this same kind of satisfaction in our spiritual work as well. Yes, we should crave what is far ahead of us – Heaven and the presence of God. But God’s presence is with us now! On every step of the journey to God we have God with us. Your soul can be satisfied in knowing that one day, when Jesus returns, we will have everything our soul ever craved. Yet even today, as your soul craves Jesus and his love and acceptance, you will never be empty, only full.
Colossians 2:9-10. 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you have been filled in him.
By our union with Christ, our motivation is no longer to work hard so that we may gain more of Christ. We can’t be more filled in him than we already are. Filled means filled. Instead, our motivation becomes one of faith not works. Trusting that in his fullness there is a rich supply of grace and love that satisfies every craving of the soul into eternity and beyond.
Christian, you are richly supplied in Christ with everything you need so as to be able to finish what you started with Jesus, knowing that he will finish what he started in you.
You: Do you struggle to finish what you’ve started? Can you connect this sloth to discontentment?
You in Christ: In Christ we have a glorious future awaiting us, but we also have glory every step of the way. Why is it so important to both look ahead and look at each step as we follow Christ?
Christ in you: How can knowing that you are full in Christ keep you satisfied today?
Pray: Father, let my longing for you drive me forward, but also let me experience satisfaction in Christ day by day. Amen.
To Live is Christ 