Get Busy!
Get Busy!
25 The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. 26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.
Proverbs 21:25-26 (NIV)
Special interest groups and lobbyists exert considerable leverage, even though they represent a small fraction of the populace. The contrast with the Church is stark, for there are millions of people in the West who claim to be evangelical. If only a tenth of them were committed to the cause of the gospel, the Church would turn the world upside down.
The sluggard is marked out by his inactivity. He sees the job, he craves the results, but he is incapable of the least effort to achieve the goal. The result of his sloth will be death. He will have no food on his table, no shelter over his head, simply because he could not be bothered to put them there. Of course he has no lack of wants, he sits back and craves, but never lifts a finger in work. He sleeps his way to death, but the righteous are hard working and are blessed with plenty. The sluggard daydreams about great wealth; the righteous work hard to meet their needs. Ironically the righteous have an abundance, so it is no trial for them to “give without sparing” (v. 26).
Many Christians and churches are sleeping their way to the night of death. Simply for lack of sustained effort, the work of the gospel remains undone. They could welcome their neighbors to church and explain the gospel, but it would be too much trouble. They could teach their children the truth of God and the way to live, but it would exhaust them. They could be salt and light in their communities, but frankly it would all be too tiring. They can bemoan the state of society and wish the world was a better place: they just never do anything to transform it.
Pastors should be industrious in Kingdom work, and so should their people. Tiredness is not a sign that something is wrong; it is more likely a sign that all is well. Christian people need to be instructed to turn from laziness in all areas of life and to be hardworking. Good works done by faith will produce a harvest of righteousness in this life and in the world to come. The world is waiting to be turned upside down.
http://www.kairosjournal.org/Document.aspx?QuadrantID=1&CategoryID=10&TopicID=18&DocumentID=5115&L=1
GracePointe Baptist Church
2209 N Post Road
Oklahoma City, OK 73141
Phone: (405) 769-5050