Walking with the Wise #29: Leaving Laziness

“Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise.

Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler,

she prepares her bread in 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.”
—Proverbs 6:6-11

One of the beautiful things about the Bible is that it speaks to who we are as people. It is not so spiritual that it overlooks the everyday realities we face. It is intensely practical, looking at every aspect of our lives. And today’s passage speaks to the blessing of diligence and a warning for laziness.

Solomon tells those who are lazy to look at the ant. Even such a small and insignificant creature knows it needs to find food for itself in the summer and during the harvest season. But the lazy man, he doesn’t do anything. He simply lies there, sleeping during the times when he should be working. Such behavior ends in poverty. He will find himself during the harvest season with nothing to harvest, no food for the winter. And he will find himself poor and in want quickly (v. 11).

The Bible tells us that we are created to work (Genesis 2:15), and that we are to do our work honestly with our own hands (1 Corinthians 4:12; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11), unto the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23). It also tells us that if we are not willing to work, then we should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

The cure for laziness is diligence and hard work. I pray that we may work heartily to the Lord and not for men, because we are serving our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:24). I pray that the fruit of our work might enable us to share with any in need (Ephesians 4:28), and cause outsiders to see Jesus Christ in us so that they too may come to know Him as the Lord and Savior of the world. Amen.