Thoughts on Laziness

Proverbs 24:30-34

I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,

and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

the ground was covered with nettles,

and its stone wall was broken down.

Then I saw and considered it;

I looked and received instruction.

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:6-11

Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise.

Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler,

she prepares her bread pin summer

and gathers her food in harvest.

How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

It is so easy to utter those words to my self, “Just a little rest.” “I’ll only sit for a minute, then I’ll get to work.” What a Lie. History has shown me that it is a lie. Rest is rarely for a few minutes unless there is a supervisor telling you that your break is over. Yet look at the ant. There is no one with a collared shirt, no one with a badge or a clipboard coming to tell her that her break is over. 

No Overseer or Ruler

I remember working for UPS while I was in college. We worked 3^rd shift, so from about 10:30 pm or so until 3:00am; though from night to night the start and end times changed slightly as we were reliant on the arrival of trucks and planes to do our jobs. We worked typically 3-5 hours when not in the peak holiday times. But sometimes those 4 hours felt rough, especially mid way through the semester when your exhaustion from going to class during the mid day hours, and then going to work when your body wants to be sleeping begins to catch up with you. So, you can imagine how welcome a break was when you got one. Now, these were mandatory breaks to comply with union labor laws, but boy we wanted them. The break, however was for only ten minutes, long enough to refill your water, use the bathroom or, in the case of many, fall stone dead asleep. I know I can't speak for every unioned package handler in UPS, but for myself and those I knew, if we had been allowed to, we would have definitely rested for far longer. It was the presence of a supervisor, calling us back with the grating reminder that we still had many trucks or airplane containers to unload, that recalled us from our reprise. Left alone, we might just have stayed and slept, or purchased another bag of chips from the vending machine.

The ant though, has no supervisor; she has no overseer or ruler. Yet, they scurry about and get their work done. I’ve never spoken to an ant, but I don’t imagine that ants take breaks like we do. If they do, I’m sure they are prompt and tidy breaks, with not a second of lingering. All kidding aside, the ant is not concerned with its self; it is not worried about what it gets out of the deal.

Paul explains in 1 Corinthians, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” Can I underline that? I am not to seek my own good! Yet my own good is my underlying concern. Furthermore I am to positively seek the good of my neighbors! I am commanded by Scripture to shut my mind to my own concerns for personal good, like tiredness and frustration and then to shed my torchlight and gaze upon the good of my neighbors. Furthermore, as a husband, this absolutely, singularly and totally must begin with my wife. She is the chief of all my earthly delights, and the primary instrument of God's mercy to me. I’m to be fueled by her good, growth, prosperity and protection as an underlying assumption for my actions, not my own. Disgustingly, such an idea is utterly backwards from what I am by nature, and furthermore, what our culture tells us that we should be. Praise God for the Justification and sanctification found in union with Christ! May I seek it earnestly!

We are to do good by ourselves first, right? Wrong wrong wrong! It is wrong to believe that I am to seek my good first, then the good of others. But I believe it is even more wrong to believe the Scriptures and do opposite. At least the unbeliever is being consistent. I have more light, I know what I should do, and I believe the Bible to be true and wholly without error when it tells me what I should do. Yet, I do not do it. James 2: 20 says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” What a shameful thing when those who know the truth do not walk in it. 

Go to the ant sluggard, consider her ways and be wise.