Respectable Sins: Laziness

We are continuing our series on “Respectable Sins”, sins that we tend to tolerate and try to find ways to justify when we see them in our lives, and even the lives of our brethren. Everyone’s toes have probably been thoroughly stepped on, including mine, as we have gone through this series and considered the sins of immodesty, gossip, and gluttony. As we go through our final 3 sermons in this series this month, it would be no surprise if this will continue to be the case. Today’s lesson is on the sin of laziness… the sin of laziness, or how Solomon often puts it in Proverbs, the sin of being a sluggard… There are many passages within the Bible that talk about this subject, so many that it is surprising how little it is talked about and how often we think or talk about laziness as though it is not that big of a deal, but this sin is a big deal. There are so many passages that talk about the foolishness of laziness and how it is a sin… And if we want to be fruitful for the Lord, it is vitally important that we work to rid ourselves of this sin

In our lesson today, I would like to look at many of the qualities that scripture, especially the book of proverbs, gives us about the lazy man/woman, or the sluggard. And as we do so, let’s keep two things in mind:

1. These things can not only be applied to physical laziness, but also to spiritual laziness. It can be the case that we are so busy with things that we neglect to do what we need to do spiritually, and thus are spiritually sluggish and lazy. Both physical and spiritual laziness are sins against God, so let’s keep this in mind as we look at the passages dealing with laziness. There are always spiritual applications also!

2. There is a proper time for rest and relaxation. There’s nothing inherently wrong with taking a break… there is nothing inherently wrong in taking it easy some times. I think God’s institution of the Sabbath and other rest days during OT times teaches us that God intended for us to take it easy sometimes. All of the Sabbaths and feast days combined, there were about 70 days each year in the Israelite calendar in which there were days that “no customary work” could be done so God’s people could rest and focus on the LORD. Even though the Sabbath law and the OT feasts were for Israel alone, I do believe there is a principle within it that is applicable to us today. Those who are created in His image are designed to need to rest after hard work in order to refresh the body, to heal, to spend time with other people, to worship, and reevaluate ourselves spiritually, etc. So I do not with this lesson intend to make you feel guilty for taking a couple days off per week, relaxing during the evening, or for going on vacation…

So with these things being said, let’s get into our qualities of a lazy man/sluggard. There will be seven qualities that I would like to talk about.

Qualities of a Sluggard

Turn to would like to look at Solomon’s instruction for the lazy man/woman in verses 6-11. He turns the sluggard’s attention to the ant, giving him some instruction from their example. In the example of the ant, they show a few things that the sluggard does not do.

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. 9 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.

There are three points that I would like to make with this passage…

A sluggard is one who often needs to be told what to do.

They do not actively look for things to do in order to be productive and to work. They need someone over them to always motivate them and to make sure they work and follow through to finish what they start. The sluggard is told to go to the ant and look… To learn… Even this little bug… It has no one over them telling them what to do (no chief, officer, or ruler), but they still work… They get done what needs done!

There is a place for receiving instruction and being told to do things. There are things that we miss… Things we don’t see that need done. But if this is what characterizes my life, this may be a good sign that I am lazy. If I am never looking for ways to serve the Lord’s people or even getting into scripture enough to see the work God wants me to do, it may be the case that this is because of laziness. It may be that I just don’t have a mind to work, and I really don’t want to be a “worker for the Lord” like I confess. We need to be more observant of things that need done. We need to, as Paul says in to “look out for the interests of others above our own interests.” If we are doing this, times of laziness will happen much less often. We won’t catch ourselves often saying there is nothing to do… or that we are bored… I do think it is true that lazy people do not see the work that needs to be done because they are not looking for it much of the time. Even the most obvious things need to be pointed out to them at times! Usually the stack of dishes on the kitchen counter at home means that the dishes need done. The roll of toilet paper is empty, why not think of doing something… like replenishing it? The garbage can is overflowing, why not take it out… There are things on the floor that need picked up, why step over them when you should see that they need to be picked up and put away? Etc, etc…Why think that all of these things will just take care of themselves? Why don’t we keep an eye out for even the smallest things we can do in order to be productive and helpful to others?

A Sluggard is short-sighted. ()

You see in these ants that they are storing up for later… They plan ahead to make sure there is food in the future when it is harder to come by… But for the lazy person, this is commonly not the case. They think mainly about the “here and now”. What will make me feel good now? I don’t know where this quote comes from, but it shows the mindset of the sluggard in this area: “Hard work may pay off in the future, but laziness pays off right now!” This shows the contrast between the hard-working ants that are doing what they can to prepare for the future and the sluggard who does not want to do anything uncomfortable or anything that is going to take a real great amount of planning and effort. There are two other proverbs that come to mind here:

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing

If one wants to have food at harvest, there are things that need to be done. But if you never start the process, obviously, the desired outcome will not happen. Instead of working and plowing, the sluggard says, “there are other things I would prefer to do…” Then come harvest time, they don’t find their fields as they expected: (TURN)

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

The last point I wanted to make from is:

A Sluggard Loves to sleep

9 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.

This is the passage that comes to my mind when I don’t want to get out of bed… I just hear in my mind, “Arise, O Sluggard!” The sluggard takes the path of least resistance… And sometimes, this is to stay in bed. They say, “there is just too much to face in the world today… too much that needs done that I cannot face… so I am going to stay in bed… or on the couch… And little by little all this time slips by where one can be productive. One other proverb:

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

I am not talking about in this point that when we are sleep-deprived or not getting enough sleep and we catch up that we are being lazy… I am talking about a mindset in general that instead of facing the world and it’s work and its stresses… decides to do the easiest thing and stay in the comfort of our homes and rest and escape.

A Sluggard makes excuses not to be productive ()

If you are being lazy and don’t want to do something, any excuse will do…

The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!"

If we are feeling lazy, unproductive, or unmotivated to do anything, we just give in to our feelings and do nothing, and if someone tries to get us to do something, we find some kind of excuse to NOT have to do it.

A child says, “I am bored.” The parent says, “ok, why don’t you go and cut the grass, and then do the dishes…” Then all of a sudden, the excuses come… It is too hot outside, I don’t feel like getting sweaty… I am tired… I am hungry… I need to do my homework… All of a sudden the boredom disappears and there are plenty of excuses to not do the work!

And here is our greatest excuse that we tend to use: I will do it tomorrow! There is a Quote Norwegian proverb that says, “The lazier a man is, the more he will do “tomorrow” … laziness leads to procrastination… It leads us to be terrible stewards of the time that God gives us today… and often times, we put things off so much that they never get done… Yes, I need to study today, and yes I need to prep for Bible class. Yes, a brother or sister needs a visit… Yes, I need to spend time praying… But I will do it later… Later comes, we say, “I will do it double tomorrow…” Tomorrow comes, the same thing happens… then we wonder why we are losing so many battles with sin… Often it is because we are putting off what is most important… We are today being lazy spiritually… so we can do what? Things that really benefit us nothing at all spiritually and do not encourage us or stir us up to serve others…

A sluggard is mostly talk… and no action

They may say how much they want something in their life… Good health, a good job, a better spiritual life…

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

At times it may be the case that we may put together some kind of grand plan to become stronger, more fruitful Christians… but we never works towards these things… words never turn to action… We say I really need to go and do so or so, but we never go do so. We say how much a sermon was convicting and talk about all of these things we plan to do in order to change, but they never happen…

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

This man obviously wanted to eat… But it never happens… He never follows through and does what is necessary to fulfill his desire…

Two New Testament passages that come to mind are and …

In , James says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (). “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead…18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” ().

Faith w/o works is DEAD… If all we are doing is talking about all of the things we need to do in order to grow spiritually, or if we are just saying that I have faith and it is not seen… James is telling us that our words are worthless… Faith is shown in action, not inaction…

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Do not love in words, but in truth… ACTION… God wants action. Words by themselves are not good enough… Talking about what we are going to do in order to show love for someone sounds all fine and dandy, but it is worthless if we are too lazy to follow through…

A Sluggard is busy being unproductive…

As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

There is a lot of action here, but no productive action… The lazy man who let his field to become a mess, he was spending his time doing something… The one making all of the excuses to get out work, they do end up spending their time doing something… And usually it ends up being something mindless and unproductive…

I think there is a challenging application here for us… Just because there is a lot of activity in our daily lives, does not mean that we are not being lazy… If we are busy sitting around all day playing video games, watching our favorite TV shows, sports, or movies, or surfing the internet, we may be doing something; there may be some activity… but we are still being unproductive! Often it is the case we are so busy doing these kind of things that we say that we are WAY too busy to do things way more important that will lead us to be productive for the Lord and for others…

A Sluggard is a burden to others…

Laziness often does not just affect the one who is being lazy. It affects others also…

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

The lazy person will leave something undone even when they know it will affect others in a negative way… Lazy employees steal off of their employers. Lazy children and teenagers make more work for those around them. Just think about this, when we are lazy, doesn’t it become the case that SOMEONE ELSE needs to pick up the slack? Usually are we not giving someone else work to do that we should be doing?

When we are lazy, we fail to show love to others, and we are led at times to find less productive things to do with our time, such as sin against others! Idle hands are the devil’s workshop!

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

Let’s also consider this passage from the perspective of us being given work by God! When He gives us work to do, and we are lazy, our laziness is an affront to God, the one whose image we were made in. He gives an example (and obviously, many commands) to those who are made in His image to be productive and to work for the sake of others. He is a God who works and serves and loves, and to neglect to do these things because of laziness is a failure to live as image bearers of God.

For those who have read the New Testament, there should be no surprise within you when I say that:

WE HAVE WORK TO DO. WE NEED TO BE WORKING!

tells us that we are God’s workmanship and have been created in Christ Jesus for good works.

says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain”

tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling…

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

I could go on and on showing verses where the Lord expects us to work as His people… These verses on their own show that there is not enough time for us as God’s people to be lazy!

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

Is it possible that when we are being lazy physically and spiritually that to God we are like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes in reference to God? May it be the case that God will say to you on the day of judgment “You wicked and slothful servant!”