Proverbs 22:13. The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”
This proverb humorously mocks the sluggard. The sluggard is so lazy that they will make up extreme excuses for not doing their job. I can’t go to work because I might be killed by a lion. Yes, lions were real in ancient Judea, but the odds of one attacking you while you walked the streets of the city were pretty small. This is more than just excuse making for laziness, this is either self-delusion or extreme dishonesty. Can’t you see that if I try to do my work it could be dangerous to me?
What about you? Do you make up farfetched reasons in your mind for why you can’t make it to work on time, or complete your responsibilities, or finish that project you started years ago? Are you always full of excuses for why a task is only half done? Do you put hard things off hoping that they will magically go away (or that someone else will do them)? Has your laziness turned into delusion or dishonesty?
Why is this so foolish? Because the sluggard (lazy person) fails to see that their laziness is far more dangerous than any lion, or any other “danger” you might come up with as a reason to avoid hard work. The external threats that exist, even the real ones, are far less dangerous than the internal threats. And laziness is an internal threat that seeks to attack your character and kill your soul. Why? Because we were created for work. God made us to “cultivate the ground” for his glory. To run away from hard work, as you would a lion, is to avoid one of God’s greatest gifts.
Paul had to address laziness within the Thessalonian church community.
1 Thessalonians 5:14. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
2 Thessalonians 3:9-11. 9It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.
And to the Romans Paul said:
Romans 12:11. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Christians aren’t immune to laziness, but in Christ, we do know the cure. The person in Christ is called to work with all their might serving the Lord. No excuses. No lies. Just diligent attention to the task at hand as if you were asked to do it by Jesus himself and for Jesus himself.
With Christ in us, as we learn to trust him more, we will look more and more like what we were supposed to look like in the Garden of Eden – servant-rulers of our garden paradise.
You: Where can you see laziness at work in your life? What excuses do you make to avoid task and responsibilities?
You in Christ: How does our union with Christ cure our laziness?
Christ in you: What change do you need to make at work, home, church, in order to work with all your might as unto the Lord Jesus?
Pray: Father, Sometimes I drift into laziness, forgetting that it is literally for Christ that I am doing all things. I know with your glory in me, I can work hard for your glory. Amen.
To Live is Christ 