Shattering Substitutes #7: Sloth

“The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.”
—Proverbs 21:25

Sloth. It’s one of the most overlooked sins. Perhaps a better and more familiar word is laziness. The book of Proverbs talks more about the subject of laziness than any other book in the Bible. Laziness is linked to getting too much sleep, and too much sleep gives rise to a failure to work, and from that comes poverty.

“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 6:10-11.

Poverty is not the only problem the lazy person has. There are several others. Their laziness gives rise to arrogance (Proverbs 26:16), all kinds of excuses (Proverbs 22:13; Proverbs 26:13), irritating and hurting others (Proverbs 10:26; Proverbs 15:19), hunger (Proverbs 19:15), starvation (Proverbs 19:24; 20:4; 24:30-34; 26:15) and eventually, death (Proverbs 21:25). Paul supports this understanding in his second letter to the Thessalonians: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat”—2 Thessalonians 3:10.

Our culture and -- sometimes, perhaps -- some of our social programs (when abused), seem to reward laziness rather than penalize it. The only cure for laziness is diligence in our work, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied”—Proverbs 13:4. God called Adam to tend the Garden before the Fall; therefore we can see that work is part of God’s created order (Genesis 2:15). God made us to work and to work honestly and diligently, using the fruit of our labor to help our relatives and friends in need (1 Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 4:28), including those who, by reason of disability or other extenuating circumstances, are genuinely unable to work.

Are you lazy? Are you refusing to work? If so, you must repent, choose to work, and then ask God to give you diligence to work, as you walk in obedience to His will. It will be a discipline and it will be difficult to be sure; the Fall guarantees it (Genesis 3:17-19). But with perseverance and God’s Spirit enabling you, you will succeed.

May God enable us all to work as best we can, using our labor to bring His name great glory, knowing that we are doing what God has made us, and commanded us, to do. Amen.