Walking with the Wise #140: Laziness vs. Labor

-->“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,


while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
—Proverbs 13:4

Our world often rewards lazy people. Certainly there are people with disabilities and others who genuinely cannot work; but there are some men and women who have been more focused on the paycheck than on the work and have become lazy. Our culture has government programs that, at times, enable those who are unwilling to work. But that is not how it should be. Those who are willing and able to work should, and should receive the proper reward for doing so. Those who are unwilling to work, as Paul said, should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

The soul of the lazy man craves, but he will not do anything to satisfy his craving—his laziness prevents him. As is seen in the proverb, 

“The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth”—Proverbs 19:24. 

His laziness overcomes hunger so much so that he can’t even feed himself.

The cure for laziness is diligence, and it is the diligent who have what they need. Indeed, the diligent are richly supplied because they have done that which they were created to do—work and display the glory of God. God created us to work (cf. Genesis 2:15), and work came before the Fall, not after it. It was only after the Fall that work became difficult and painful (cf. Genesis 3:17-19).

Our goal should be to  

“…work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ”—Colossians 3:23-24. 

Are you working for the Lord or are you being lazy? Are you diligent or are you disregarding God’s commands to work heartily? Be diligent, do what God says, and get ready to have your soul richly blessed by the fruit of your labor. Amen.