The Problem of Laziness, Part 1

Growing up as a child I can remember many times my mother and father coming to my room and singing, Rise and Shine, Give God the Glory. They would sing it at the top of their lungs and many times they would sing that song I would look out the window and it was pitch black outside and I couldn't understand why they wanted me to get up so early. And they would often read to me this verse of scripture in the book of Proverbs the sixth chapter.

Go to the aunt, O sluggard. Observe her ways and be wise, which having no chief officer or ruler, prepare us her food in the summer and gather us her provision in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an armed man.

My parents must have read that verse of scripture to me no less than one million times when I was in their household. They were always on me about getting this done, and getting that done, and making sure that I wasn't late at doing what I needed to do. Oftentimes they would refer me to the book of Proverbs the 24th chapter over in the 30th verse when it says this, I passed by the field of the sluggard, and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, and behold it was completely overgrown with thistles.

Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it. I looked and received instruction.

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, then your poverty will come as a robber, and your want like an armed man. Solomon says, you know I learned a lot from the lazy man. I drove by his home.

I realized that his yard was unkept. I realized that his house was in shambles. I realized that the walls around his yard were broken down.

I looked, I thought, I considered, and I began to understand how I am NOT to live my life. The Bible has a lot to say about the slothful man, the lazy man, or the sluggard as sometimes the Bible calls him. We don't recognize laziness as sin, but in reality that's what it is.

And God has a lot to say about the lazy man. And so we're gonna look at what the Bible has to say about that this evening by helping us come to grips with sometimes we ourselves are lazy. Now I know that when you start talking about a lazy person, many of you think about someone in your mind.

If I were to say, think of a few people that you know that are lazy. You could probably name off five, six, seven, eight people. If we would ask them, I wonder if you would be part of their list.

We need to realize that we are more lazy than we ever dream we truly are. We tend to think we're disciplined people. We tend to think that we're on top of things.

The more I did the study of this, the more I realized that I'm not as disciplined as I thought I was. And I'm a guy who likes to get up early and stay up late and get things done and stay on top of what I'm doing. But I realized that, you know what, the Bible has a lot to say to me to understand how I'm not as diligent as I might think I am.

To realize that God has a lot to say about laziness. So we're gonna look at the characteristics of laziness. And then we're gonna look at the consequences of laziness.

And then we're gonna look at the cure for laziness. Because there is a cure. If it's a sin, there's a solution.

God has the answer to every problem that we face. And therefore we're gonna see what God has to say about it. First of all, the characteristics of laziness.

Let me give them to you. Number one is this. A lazy person is one who depends on others, listen, to give him directions.

A lazy person is one who depends upon others to give them directions. It's not that you don't know where to go. It's just that you have to depend upon somebody to tell you where to go.

You depend upon somebody to tell you what to do. Proverbs chapter 6, verse number 7, or verse number 6, go to the anus, sluggard, observe our ways and be wise, which having no chief, officer, or ruler prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. The ant has no overseer.

The ant has no officer, has no general. The ant has no one barking out orders to all the other ants as to where they need to be, what they need to do, and what they need to gather. Now that tells me a lot about me as a person.

That means God expects me to be disciplined. God expects me to be a motivator, an initiator. He expects me not to wait for someone to tell me what to do.

For instance, your children. We raise our children telling them, listen, these are your chores. This is what you need to do.

Now I don't want to have to tell you every day to take out the trash. Why? Because when the trash is full it needs to be taken out. I don't need to tell you to make sure that your rooms are clean.

Why? Because every day you should pick up your rooms. Every day you should make your bed. Every day you should hang your clothes up neatly in their room.

That's just the way it is. Now if I have to tell you to do that, I've told my children, that means you're not like the ant. That means you truly are a sluggard.

Now last summer we did a little study in our home and we had these little ant ears that we used to put on our children as we did a study of the sluggard in the Bible. And every child that was able to do their chores without ever being asked were able to wear the ant ears at dinner. They were the ants for the day.

They would receive the reward from their father because they were disciplined to get their work done. They didn't have to be told what to do. That's very important.

When we hire staff here at the church, we can't hire people that I have to tell them what to do. If I got to make sure Chris has all the music for Sunday morning and Wednesday nights, or make sure he's called all his choir members, or make sure he's ready to go for Christmas and Easter every year, if I got to make sure he's doing those things, guess what? I need to fire him and do them myself. Why? Because I need to have people who know what needs to be done without me having to tell them to do it.

That's very important. If you want to be a leader, you can't wait for somebody to tell you what to do. You need to know what to do.

You just need to know what to do. And we need to train our children to be disciplined enough to know what needs to get done. My wife is bedridden because of her pregnancy.

Has been for the last six weeks. It's very important. It's very important that me and the children pick up the slack and do the work.

We have to do those things. We have to do the cleaning. We have to do the cooking.

We have to do the laundry. We have to make sure things are done because mom was unable to do those things. And so there there has to be extra slack picked up and we've got to make sure that we when we see something that needs to be done we get it done.

Because mom's not there to remind anybody what to do. See? Because she's bedridden. So we have to make sure that everything's taken care of.

And you see the disciplined person knows what to do and gets it done. He doesn't depend or need someone to tell him what to do. So the first characteristic of a lazy person is that he depends upon other people to give him directions.

He's not a self-starter. He's not a self-motivator. He's unable to think for himself to get things done.

Number two, a lazy person disregards future planning. He disregards future planning. Proverbs 6 verse number 8, the aunt prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest.

The aunt knows that if it doesn't prepare for the future it will die. You need to be able to prepare for the future. Proverbs 20 verse number 4 states it this way, the sluggard does not plow after the autumn so he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

You see the sluggard doesn't plan. He doesn't plan ahead. Do you plan ahead? Are you prepared down the road or do you just live one day at a time? Now I know that we have to take no thought for tomorrow.

That's what the Bible says and I understand that but it doesn't mean that we're irresponsible in our planning. I have, I brought with me this evening my my day timer. This is a very important piece of material for me because if it's not in here I don't do it because I'll forget it.

So if someone says that I need to be someplace at a certain time and I write it in my day timer so I know where I'm supposed to go. I have the year in here so I can plan into the future. So I know what I'm going to be doing.

In my day timer I keep very strict account of what I'm doing in the year. So what I have is my preaching calendar all the way through August of next year. So I know where I'm going, where I'm going.

I know what I'm going to preach on. I give this to Chris and to Stuart and to Greg so they understand what's going to happen. This is my Wednesday evenings and I put the Easter services on there, the missions conference on there, everything so everybody knows where we're going, what we're preaching on so that no one's left in the dark.

They need to know. If I don't plan ahead they can't plan ahead. It's very important for us to realize that we need to be able to think futuristically.

But the sluggard doesn't do that. He disregards future planning. Listen, if you want to be a leader of your home you can't expect to live one day at a time without helping your family understand where you're going in the future.

That's important. And the lazy man, he disregards any futuristic planning. So all of a sudden the future is now in the present and they're unprepared.

The lazy man does that. The disciplined man can't afford to do that. Let me give you another characteristic.

The lazy man, he is derelict in his duties, irresponsible in his duties. We read Proverbs 24 verse number 30. We read Proverbs 20 verse number 4 already.

He just becomes derelict in his duties. When Solomon said, I went by the man's house and I realized he didn't mow his yard, he didn't keep his fence up, he didn't keep his house up. He just didn't take care of those things.

Folks, let me tell you something. Whatever you have, God gave you and you are a steward of those things. I don't care if you live in a mansion or a shack.

If you live in a shack, it ought to be the best shack around. If you live in a mansion, it ought to be the best mansion around. You need to take care of the things that you have.

It's very important when people drive by your house. We got a guy in my neighborhood. You know, we moved into a new development and, you know, everything is pretty, pretty nice except for this one guy in the corner.

And one day he was outside doing his yard. I went by and I said, you know, it seems to me like you're having a little trouble with, with your yard. Can I help you with some things? He said, sure, yeah, sure.

I said, let me show you how to, how to, how to edge your, your yard. And so, you know, he had his edger out there and I took him around and showed him how to edge his whole yard for him. Do you know that he hasn't edged his yard yet in the last two years since that day? I don't know if he's expecting me to come over and do that for him or what.

But, you know, I think it's important to realize that when God gives you something, you got to take care of it. I'm one of those guys that likes to do yard work. I don't, I don't want to hire somebody to come to my house and do it.

I want to do it myself. I want to be responsible for what it looks like and so, therefore, I'm going to do it myself. And you know what? We need to take care of the things God gives us.

But the lazy man is derelict in his, in his duties. There's things he should be doing he's just not doing. For instance, when you go to hire somebody, the best thing you can do to hire someone for your office or your organization is to ask them to take you for a ride in their car.

Ask them if you can go for a ride with them in their car. I can tell you a lot about a person by opening their car door. Unbelievably, you can tell a lot about a person's commitment to cleanliness.

Why? Why is that? Because, you know, if you can't keep your own space clean, right, the one that you, the one that you see only, how do you expect to keep other aspects of your life free from clutter, right? And so, when you, when you were to drive someone else's car or get in the car with them, you can tell a lot about that person's organizational skills, discipline, and commitment to cleanliness. Now, I have not been in your car, so I'm not, I don't have any of you in my mind. I'm not thinking about any of you out there, so just in case you are, please rest at ease.

I'm not thinking about any of you. But you see, if God gives you a car, take care of it. Change the oil.

That's one of your duties. You put gas in it, right? Not as much as you used to because it's so expensive, but you put gas in it. You got to rotate your tires.

You got, you got to take care of the thing that God's given to you, because you are a steward. You are a household manager of the things that God has given to you. We think of stewardship only in terms of money, but it's not.

Stewardship is about taking care of all the things God gives us, even our own bodies, our own lives. That's important. I've taught my children, listen, keep your rooms clean.

You're the only one in your room. My little Ashley, man, she's a, she's a neat freak, man. She's a, she's a lot like her father.

She's kind of neurotic when it comes to keeping things in her own little space neat, orderly, and clean. But you go to her room, and everything has got a place. Everything's in perfect order.

My Anna, she's a little different. You know, she's a little, she's just out there someplace, you know. She's not sure where anything is or where anything goes.

She just is kind of, she's kind of out there. So we, we got to constantly be on Anna talking to her about, hey, this is where it goes. Make sure you put it away.

You got to be disciplined here, yada, yada, yada. Sometimes we set up Ashley as the example, follow Ashley, look what she does. But you know, it's important to realize that we need to take care of those things.

We cannot be derelict in our duties. There are certain things we need to do. We got to be responsible.

So you got to be responsible, keep your house clean, keep your yard work done. Because Solomon said, I drove by the guy's house, and I realized, man, this guy, I learned something, he says. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands, and all of a sudden, you're defenseless, like before an armed man.

You're in trouble. And so those things are very, very important as we look at our lives and ask ourselves, are we lazy? Are we disciplined? Are we on top of things that we need to be doing? Are we good stewards of what God's given to us? Or we just kind of push things off to the side and hope somebody else doesn't. Number four, characteristic of a lazy person.

They're devoid of understanding. They're devoid of other understanding. We already saw Proverbs 24 30, where it says that the sluggard lacks any sense.

Proverbs 26 13 says it this way. Proverbs 26 13, the sluggard says, there is a lion in the road. A lion is in the open square.

Now, what the sluggard does is he gives an excuse as to why he shouldn't leave his house. Well, I can't go to work, there's a lion outside. That's like saying, I can't go to work today because I couldn't get my car started.

Or I can't go to work today because there was so much snow last night that I couldn't, I couldn't get it all shoveled off the pavement in order to get my car out. The sluggard is always giving excuses as to why he doesn't do his responsibility. And the sluggard says, I can't do this, there's a lion in the street.

As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can give a because he thinks he's smarter than everybody else. He thinks he's smarter that so much that he doesn't have to work like everybody else has to work. He didn't have to do what anybody else has to do.

He can just roll over on his bed, do whatever he wants to do, and he's smarter than seven wise men in his own eyes. In his own eyes. But the lazy man is devoid of understanding.

He lacks ambition. He lacks desire. He lacks discipline.

Next, number five. He desires things, but he won't work for them. He desires things, but he won't work for them.

Wouldn't it be nice if everything just kind of like fell into our laps, you know? Like, you know, we would win the million-dollar prize, or whatever those home sweepstakes things they just give away, you know, that someone would come and just give us ten million dollars. Don't you just kind of wish that things would just fall into your lap, and everything would just be comfortable and easy for you? Well, the sluggard is the one who desires things, but he'll never work for them. Proverbs 13, verse number four, says this, The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.

The hard worker, oh, he has a fat soul. He reaps the benefits, but the sluggard, the lazy man, he wants something. He desires it, but he gets nothing, because he's unwilling to work for it.

Over in Proverbs 21, 25, it says this, Proverbs 21, verse number 25, The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, for his hands refuse to work. All day long he is craving, while the righteous gives and does not hold back. You see, he just refuses to work.

He can work, he won't work. And so he desires things, but he will not work for them. The sluggard is the guy who thinks that work is a result of the curse.

Work's not a result of the curse. Adam was working way before sin ever came into the world. Man was created by God and designed to work.

Work is a blessing, it's not a curse. But we look at work as a curse. You know, we want to reduce our work week from five days to four days, from four days to three days.

We want to work less and receive more money. We don't want to work more so we can get what's due us. We want to work less and receive more money.

And behind that mentality is the desire to have more, but work less. All the while the Bible says that's the mark of the lazy person. That's the mark of the sluggard.

He wants things, but he's unwilling to work for them. He expects people to give him things. He expects people to hand him things.

Another mark or characteristic of the sluggard is this. He destroys what has already been accomplished. Proverbs 18, verse number 9. Proverbs 18, verse number 9 says this, he also who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys.

He who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys. Why is that? Because lazy people are always looking for shortcuts. They're looking for the easy way out.

Remember years ago we decided to get a swing set for our kids. And of course, you know, dad was gonna put it together. And the instruction said three hours and it should be put together.

Three days later I was still putting together this swing set. And by the end of those three days, let me tell you something, I was a little frustrated. You know, I don't have a real mechanical mind.

I'm not one of those guys that likes to read all the directions. I just like to look at the pictures and kind of put it together. You know I'm saying? At the end of those three days I finally got it out.

But you know what? I cut corners. I cut corners. My kids came out to play in this thing and it was starting to fall apart.

You know? Why? Because I was too lazy to read the directions. I was too lazy to put it together properly. I just wanted to get it done and get it up so everybody would get off my back and everybody would be happy.

Okay? All the while not knowing that it was a dangerous thing that I was doing in terms of cutting corners. So I had to get all the kids off. Had to go back and read the manual.

Took me another three days to make sure I got it right again. Took me six days to put that thing together. Six days what would take a normal man three hours.

But you know what? I learned a lesson. You can't cut corners in life. It could cost somebody their life if you're not careful.

It could injure somebody else. And the lazy man destroys that which has already been accomplished. Why? Because he just doesn't have the commitment that others have.

He just wants to get it done so that he can do something else. You just can't afford to do that. And yet we need to understand that when we face difficulties, when we face problems, what does the Bible say we need to do? If you read the book of Proverbs properly it tells you how you got to be where you are today.

And it also tells you how you can turn things around in your life no matter how old you are that you might walk with God and honor Him the rest of the days that God gives you. What are you doing for the sake of the kingdom? Every moment of the day. Let's pray.

Father we thank you for your word and what you teach us and thank you Lord for the truth that's there. Forgive us Lord for being lackadaisical in our commitment to Christ, for being lazy in our spiritual discipline, being lazy at the workplace, being lazily in our own self-discipline. Help us Lord to realize the consequences and to adhere to what the Word of the Lord says that we might be the kind of people that are awake and active and alert to doing the things of God.

All of us Lord, myself included, can all learn from your word. And I pray that we would be better people because of it. Now when others see us they would know that we are disciplined in the things of God, doing the things that God has asked us to do consistently and faithfully.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.