No Fruit for the Sluggard

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those                                        who send him. Proverbs 10:26

 

Work. Discipline. Self-control. Responsibility.

I live this blessed life where I get to work/do ministry from home.  I love it but there are very difficult aspects of it. The most difficult being that if it doesn’t get done, I have no one else to blame.

As I have been studying Proverbs I see that God would have wisdom affect every area of my life – including how I spend my time. Lots of days I work hard at being productive, if not writing, then at least studying for a portion of the day for my next teaching assignment. My assignments come from God – as do everyone’s.

Scriptures verify that work is from God, not to mention that we were created in His image and He worked to create and continues to work. Colossians 3 teaches that all we do should be as if it were for the Lord and not men (verse 23). According to John 6, the most important work we do is to believe in Jesus, whom God sent.  And, Ephesians 2 tells us that God has works that He has planned for us to do. These may be different than our vocation, they will not save us, but are the fruit of our salvation in Christ.

So, knowing all of that, why is it that some days it can be so hard to stay on task? The Proverbs use a word that sounds as bad as the person it describes: sluggard. This person is more than unproductive on a day here or there. This person makes excuses not to work. They are much more content with nothing to do than they are when someone is expecting something from them.

Sluggards on their beds are compared to a door on its hinges, as if they were attached to their bed, they can roll over,  but they won’t get out. They make excuses not to go to work. In Proverbs 26:13 the sluggard says there’s a lion in the street so he won’t have to leave his house.

The Proverbs also address what these people use to replace work. Things like, “worthless pursuits”, “mere talk”, “sleep”, and excuses for staying in the house take up their time.