Proverbs 24:33-34. 33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
What a tragic ending for the sluggard. He wouldn’t begin things. He wouldn’t finish things. He wouldn’t face things. In the end he is undone by his own laziness.
Not only is this person lazy, they are self-deceived. Surely their poverty came upon them slowly over time, but to them it feels like a robber that pounced on them from out of nowhere. An ambush by an armed man.
It all started so innocently. Just a little bit more sleep. Just a little bit more slumber. Just five more minutes of rest. Of course, sleep and rest are not bad things. They are both necessary and good. Physical rest and spiritual rest. God rested. Jesus rested. We need to rest. The issue is the refusal to work hard. The deeper issue is love, or lack of love. A refusal to work, the folding of the hands, is a refusal to love. If to love is to give and sacrifice in that giving, then it requires work. Love never just consumes things; it produces things. Love grows things, builds things, teaches things, paints things, composes things, sells things (at a fair price), protects things, cares for things, serves things, gives things.
Are you a producer or just a consumer?
Are you a giver or just a taker?
Learn the lesson now, while there is still time. The sluggard is no freak. He is no anomaly. He lives in all of us. Hard working in the career, but sluggardly at home. Diligent in earthly things, but lazy in spiritual things. A producer in the world, but a consumer in church. Not pulling your weight. Not contributing to the needs of the community you live in. No, you didn’t consciously choose to be this way, the laziness crept in slowly, one apathetic day at a time. Sin always creeps up on us. It always crouches at our door, waiting like a patient terrorist to destroy us.
A little. A little. A little.
In Christ, laziness doesn’t have to dominate us. Jesus and his glory, the glory of God, can become our heart’s motivation – do all to the glory of God. Work is a gift from the Lord. Not a means of salvation, or a measure of our value, but a real gift that brings purpose from Christ, partnership with the Spirit, and the pleasure of God. Laziness, by contrast, is inconsistent with the indwelling life of Christ in you. Was Jesus lazy? Never. Is the Christ in you lazy? No. Does Christ want to accomplish his work in and through you? Always.
Trust in that! Let this amazing truth motivate your grace driven efforts. Jesus doesn’t need you to work hard. His gospel doesn’t even require you to work hard. But his grace in you, his life in you, empowers you to work hard for his kingdom and his glory. Amen.
You: In what sphere of your life do you see laziness creeping in?
You in Christ: How does knowing that Christ is at work in you motivate you to work hard in all you do by his grace?
Christ in you: Where can you obviously see Christ at work? How can you join him there this week?
Pray: Father, I admit my laziness in certain areas, often in the area of spiritual growth and love. Let your indwelling life in me be my motivation. Make me aware of how you are at work in and through me. I want to participate in what you’re doing. Amen.
To Live is Christ 