“A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.” (Proverbs 18:9)
Food For Thought: Sloth was one of seven sins identified by early Christians that became known as the “seven deadly sins.” However, sloth, or laziness as we would call it today, has caught a break. We don’t often think of it as a deadly sin. It’s more of an irritating habit. Perhaps we’d go so far as to think of it is a character flaw in someone’s life. Though laziness is not a particularly ingratiating habit, it certainly doesn’t rise to the level of sending someone to hell.
But the writer of this proverb used some pretty strong words in describing the lazy person. He says they are as bad as someone who destroys something—perhaps because they are destroying the opportunities that God has placed before them to steward their talents, to produce beauty, to add value to this world, and to leverage their one and only life into something that glorifies their Creator.
Other translations of the Bible render the lazy person in this proverb in a similarly bad light: They are as like someone who commits vandalism (The Message), a troublemaker (Contemporary English Version), one who commits suicide (Amplified), a destructive personality (Good News), and a great waster (The 21st Century King James…a version I didn’t even know existed!). Anyway, I think you get the picture. A lazy-bones is not simply someone who has a little issue with diligence, they’ve got a major league problem with Creator God!
Now you may be wondering what this verse has to do with you. If you’re reading this post, you’re probably not a lazy person. The very fact that you made the effort to log on and read it means you have at least a modicum of diligence flowing through your veins. My guess is you are like most of the people I know: Type-A, hard-working, fast-paced, borderline workaholic, make-it-happen kind of person…right?
But I don’t think Proverbs is just talking about the out and out lazy person who won’t lift a finger to do anything. I think the deeper message here maybe hits closer to home than you might imagine. I suspect the writer may also have in mind someone whom I would call a selective sluggard.
Truth is, you may be doing fine in 9 out of 10 areas of your life. And you may think, “That’s great …I’m batting .900 and that would be considered outstanding by anyone’s standards—and I don’t even use steroids!” ” But Solomon would tell you that it’s that one area left unattended that can destroy you…it’s the 10th item in your 9 out of 10 life that you let slide that’ll get you every time.
I have a friend who was on a flight from Denver to Chicago several years ago. On that trip, as the plane flew over Iowa, the tail rotor exploded and disintegrated. And as pieces of the rotor blew apart, it severed the hydraulics line…the plane was completely without hydraulics. That had never happened before…the pilots had no training for that kind of emergency. Ultimately, and quite miraculously, they steered the plane to an airport in Sioux City, where they attempted to land. Unfortunately, they came in too fast and at the wrong angle, and the big jet cartwheeled down the runway, breaking apart as it went. Sadly, many people died, but amazingly, even more survived, including my friend.
What was interesting was that in the investigation of the crash, it was discovered that a microscopic crack in the tail rotor, invisible to the naked eye, led to this massive hydraulic failure and the tragedy that followed. Just a small crack, but ultimately, it proved to be deadly.
We may have just a small chink in our armor, but that can be our fatal flaw. We might be okay in 9 out of 10 areas, but it’s that 10th area where we may be allowing sluggardliness, or sloth, or laziness, to exist, and if we’re selectively slack in that 10th area, it’s very possible that our lives could be ultimately ruined, or at best, short-changed from what God wants us to experience.
As you read through Proverbs, you will discover several ways in which we can slide into selective sluggardliness. Let me suggest a few of these 10th areas—see if one of these describes you:
One way is when we deny reality. Proverbs 19:15 says, “Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.” Proverbs 20:4 & 13 tells us, “ A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing. Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.”
The writer is painting a picture of one who is out of touch with what’s going on in his or her life; who pretends problems don’t exist, who is oblivious to reality, who just kind of ignores what needs to be done. That’s what we call denial. And the problem with denial is that it blinds you to your own weakness. That’s why you need to have people in your life whom you will allow to call out that 10th area, because we all tend to drift into denial in areas where we are unaccountable.
Refuse to live in denial!
Another way we fall into selective sluggardliness is when we postpone responsibility. We become what I’d call “someday people,” as in, “I’ll deal with that…someday!” That’s the operative word in their lives: Someday! It’s called procrastination. Proverbs 6:9-11 paints a picture of the one who puts off dealing with reality:
“How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”
Proverbs 10:4-5 says, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son”
That reminds me of a poem written by Gloria Pitzer:
Procrastination is my sin; it brings me nothing but sorrow.
I know that I should stop it; in fact, I will—tomorrow.
Perhaps procrastination is your 10th area. Maybe you ‘re putting off having that tough conversation…taking those first uncomfortable steps toward growth and change…waiting for the right time…thinking, “I’ll get to it tomorrow.” Richard Evans says, “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”
Refuse to be a someday person!
Yet another area of selective sluggardliness is when we make excuses. I can’t do anything about this…it’s not my fault. My mom and dad did this to me…they were unfair to me at work…my spouse just doesn’t understand me…I just never catch a break…I don’t know what to do about this? These kind of people always have an excuse for not taking the initiative to deal with that tenth area.
Proverbs 22:13 says, “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside!’ or, ‘I will be murdered in the streets!’” In other words, this person is building a case for inaction by offering flimsy excuses. Their operative phrase is “It’s not my fault.”
Refuse to be an excuse maker!
And the final area of selective sluggardliness that Solomon address is full on laziness. We’ve just resigned ourselves to living without initiative in that tenth area. Proverbs 19:24 says, “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
The mantra of this kind of lazy person is “I really don’t care…there’s nothing I can do about it.” Frankly, they’re just slothful and have no plans to address issues in their lives. They are willing to co-exist with that 10th area and as a result, live with less than God’s best.
Refuse to resign to that 10th area in your life!
So, what if you’ve identified your 10th area and you want to do something about it? Where do you begin? Proverbs 6:6-8 and 30:25 gives some simple but sage advice. Solomon tells us if we want to get motivated and stay motivated, all we need to do is follow the example of one of the tiniest yet most enduring creatures on God’s green earth—the ant. Look at the ant and consider it’s ways, he says:
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest… Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.”
Proverbs says what we need to do, if we lack initiative in any area of our lives, is enroll in the ant academy. And here are the lessons the ant will teach us:
The first lesson is the ant needs no outside motivation. Verse 7 says it has no commander, overseer or ruler—there’s no drill sergeANT—standing over it barking out orders to do this or that. There’s just a God-given, built in motivation to do what needs to be done. You have that same motivation mechanism. May it’s time for you to crank it up and get going!
The second lesson is the ant just knows what to do. Verse 7 doesn’t say that there’s a lead ant, a savANT, as it were, making sure to clearly spell out for the other ants what they ought to do. They just instinctively provide for their needs and prepare for the future. It ia highly likely that you’re 10th areas doesn’t need a lot of analysis. You don’t need to keep waiting for someone to provide you with some deep, profound insight on what you need to do. This ain’t rocket science.! The truth is, you already know what needs to be done.
That leads to the third lesson: The ant just does it. Verse 8 tells us they just go about gathering and storing. There’s a job to be done and they just get it done.
Then there’s a fourth lesson that the ant teaches in Proverbs 30:25. That verse says that “ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.” The ant doesn’t make excuses for it’s lack of size or strength, it doesn’t compare itself to other creatures who are better equipped, it just takes advantage of what it has and maximizes it’s potential.
Like the ant, you have everything you need to get going in that 10th area of your life, God has made sure of that. The question is, “will you?” I hope you will! I hope that beginning right now, you’ll identify your area of selective sluggardliness… take the initiative by asking God for his strength and wisdom to help you deal with it…and then, just get busy and make it happen. Don’t settle for 9 out of 10 in your life…God deserves you to be a 10!
Prayer: God, help me today to do everything in my power to take advantage of everything you’ve done in your power to make me a fully empowered child of the King!
One More Thing… Ken Blanchard writes, “The thinking that got you where you are today will not get you to where you need to go.”
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