Laziness is a sin that seems to plague everyone at one point or another in their life. I would even go as far to say that it is unavoidable. There are days when it is rainy outside, you wake up from a great nights sleep, and accomplish nothing all day. Perhaps it is when work is to be done, but you take a little extra long break. Maybe your laziness is in your promises to yourself. I find myself constantly struggling with laziness. It is my personal devil. There. I confessed it. You Happy? Sorry, for the rant but don’t we all wish we could conquer this sin? It is so hard to conquer because it is so tempting not to start a project. It is so tempting to wait an extra twenty minutes until some of the project has been accomplished. I will provide you with the scripture and then I will discuss how you can take the first step in slaying this demon.
Proverbs 19:15 – Laziness brings on a deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.
Wow, what a clear message. I am constantly befuddled by the ambiguity that the bible uses to convey the message. Let’s be honest, if Jesus spoke to you in a parable, you would say, “just say what you mean or keep it to yourself.” The DaVinci code is clearer. What is great is this passage has no room for interpretation. These words, “the shiftless man goes hungry.” is as clear as it comes. (Shiftless means lacking ambition or being unwilling to make the effort to be successful or do something properly) What is even better is that it applies to two contexts.
First, if you do not sow the field, plant the field, harvest the field, mill the grain and bake the bread, you will be hungry. Put welfare aside, if you don’t work-you don’t eat; Simple. Nothing could be simpler. We were given muscles and ligaments to move. If you are able, you use the power of your mind to solve a problem. Whatever work you do, you must provide a service to others, who in return will provide a service to you. This is the basis of free market, and the basis of the Lords teaching. You need to work to provide service to others, in return, they will provide service to you.
Now comes the hard one. You need to not be lazy in your service to the Lord. The biggest fear you can have is being hungry in the kingdom of heaven. Not even your parents provide food as freely as the Lord, yet the simple chores He asks of us seem inconvenient. If your mother asked you to sweep the porch, you wouldn’t hesitate. Yet the Lord asks for you to spread his message or volunteer at church and you rebuke him. He allows you a second chance by feeding you with his love and spirit, but you rebuke him again. This goes on and on, over and over because it is easier to be involved in our own life. After work, who wants to volunteer at Vacation Bible School? You have worked all week, who wants to help carry equipment to another room. Do the words, “I am already too busy” simply mean I am too lazy to do God’s chores. The Lord has promised to feed us, despite not doing his chores. But there is a catch. This catch is that he will feed us while we walk on the earth. When we go to his kingdom, will our disobedience be accounted for?
My plan for reducing laziness is not a simple one. It will require a lot of will power to not become slothful. I have started by this blog. Hopefully, it is providing you with both entertainment and something to think about in your growth with Jesus. My goal is to use my struggles, or my new growth with the Word to teach you something about living with Christ. I am by no means qualified for this position, but if I wait until I am qualified we both might be dead. The next thing I am doing is volunteering if there is a job to be done. I have been fortunate enough to have a wonderful education in business, economics and the law. This combination of education can be used to improve the church financially. I will begin by asking how to get involved in the financial affairs of the church. This way I will be in a better position to volunteer where my skills can be utilized. In my non-church life, I will not take thirty minutes after lunch to get back to work. I will dive right in after I have eaten. That 30 minutes a day is two and a half hours a week that is wasted looking up useless stuff on the internet. It is time to make ourselves lean, mean God fearin’ machines. Good Luck with your spiritual path. God Bless.
If you would like to know more about HOPE COVENANT CHURCH, come see us on Sundays at our new time of 10:00 A.M. at the address below. Also, this blog loves comments and visiting writers. Send in your post and we will try our best to have it published.
Orland Park, IL 60462-3112
(708) 873-3640
