“LAZINESS“
“If I won the award for laziness, I would send somebody to pick it up for me.”
“He’s so lazy that if there were work in bed, he would rather sleep on the floor.”
“Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet!
They’re about to announce the lottery numbers.”
While these above statements are rather humorous, they are also sad because they describe a segment of people that are easily identifiable. The scriptures are not silent on the subject of laziness. Solomon had some strong statements about the slothful:
“The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is pre-cious” (Prov.12:27). It seems to me Solomon is saying the lazy man hunts for food but when he gets it he is too lazy to cook it.
“He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster” (Prov. 18:9). A lazy person has no discipline. Solomon followed that passage with this, “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” (Prov. 19:15).
One writer had this to say about laziness, “Laziness and procrastination are two characteristics to avoid. The lure of deferring our daily responsibilities can be appealing on the surface, but as a habitual practice, laziness is sinful and can grow into a view of hopelessness toward individual achievement.” Have you ever visited the zoo and went to the Sloth cage. Another writer had this to say about the Sloth, “I could watch the sloth for hours. Did you know that they sleep from 15-18 hours a day? Did you know they are among the slowest moving mammals in the world? They hang upside down most of their lives. And they move so slowly that green algae grows on their fur and then they lick it for nutrition.”
You can overcome laziness. How? Solomon has the answer, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man” (Prov. 6:6-11). Putting this in 21st Century language it is, “get up and get to work.” Stop your whining, stop your belly aching, do something.
There is the following: “Did you ever hear about the patient who went for a very thorough examination by a doctor? The patient said that he wanted the doctor to be frank about what was wrong with him. The doctor asked him if he was quite sure about this. The patient replied in the affirmative. Said the doctor, “There isn’t a thing in the world wrong with you, except that you are just lazy.” The patient answered, “Okay, doc. Now give me the medical term for it, so I can tell my wife.”
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Eph. 5:14).
Larry