Laziness

Proverbs 24:30-34

Main Idea: Our laziness points out our need for Jesus.

1. Our Laziness Is Destructive.
2. Our Laziness Points Us to Jesus.

In a song titled “Down the Road” by Mac McAnally, Kenny Chesney sings about a boy wanting to marry a girl and go through life together. In the third verse, her mother wonders if the boy is a genuine Christian, but her father worries whether the boy has a good enough job to make it through married life. We hear that and think those are two very different concerns: Momma’s is a very spiritual (and godly) concern, whereas Daddy’s is merely a material concern. Wrong! Wanting to know if a man has a good enough work ethic to provide for your daughter is a very spiritual concern according to the Bible. Work is not a secular or neutral matter; it has everything to do with your walk with Christ!

Proverbs says that sloth—laziness—is not just a character flaw, although it is. Proverbs mocks lazy people repeatedly as those who can’t even bring their food to their mouths. But Proverbs also says that laziness is a spiritual problem! Proverbs warns the lazy and thereby calls them to repentance.

I went by the field of a slacker

and by the vineyard of one lacking sense.

Thistles had come up everywhere,

weeds covered the ground,

and the stone wall was ruined.

I saw, and took it to heart;

I looked, and received instruction:

a little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the arms to rest,

and your poverty will come like a robber,

and your need, like a bandit. (24:30-34)

Our Laziness Is Destructive

This passage pictures a wise man who sees the field of an idler. Literally the text says that the man “lacks heart” (v. 30 translated by CSB as “lacking sense”). To lack a heart in the Bible is a serious spiritual problem since it’s associated with an inability to obey the law (Deut 5:29). His laziness is revealed because the field is overgrown with thorns. This language reminds one of the curse language of Genesis 3:17-19 where sin makes it difficult to work and provide, and where the ground bears “thorns and thistles” rather than fruit.

Often, our sinful reaction to the curse is to take on as little responsibility as we can. Many become couch potatoes or lack the drive to work hard. The slacker gives in to this temptation. He is not sweating, and he is not providing. He just lets the weeds grow and allows things to fall apart.

The sage observes this and is instructed by it (v. 32). Wisdom teaches that there is an order to the world so that it works in a certain way. We see this in Proverbs 6 when the sage observes the ants’ work ethic to provide and store. While you can observe the ant to see that a work ethic is helpful, you can observe the slacker in Proverbs 24 to see that lazy behavior has destructively negative consequences. Garrett says, “The anecdote invites the reader to recall similar observations of homes in disrepair and to draw the same conclusions” (Proverbs, 202). The sage is pleading with us to not live against the grain because if you live against God’s design of the world, you can become the slob on the couch who is dependent on handouts (self-inflicted poverty). If you do not do what needs to be done, or if you sleep too much, then your life will be in chaos and more likely than not you will be poor and unable to provide. We need to be instructed by this as well and to be called to a strong work ethic that enables us to meet our family’s needs.

But the problem for us is that when we read these verses we automatically think of the thirty-five-year-old sleeping on his mommy’s and daddy’s couch watching Jerry Springer while he stuffs his face with chips! Some of you may be struggling like that, but not most of us! That image enables you to say, “I don’t struggle with laziness!” Yet we all have this tendency in our hearts, and we often do not recognize it because we measure ourselves against people whom we know are lazy.^[43]

Some of you may be struggling with wanting your needs met without having to work for them. Or you do not want to spend wisely; you just want to spend. Proverbs 20:4 says, “The slacker does not plow during planting season; at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.” As a result of this lifestyle, you depend on handouts—or bailouts! We have a slothful yet entitled society that wants others to work for what they get. We even see this with people who drive from church to church in town to see if they can get money. And they know how to work the system. The problem is that is not most of us, and so we do not think we struggle with laziness.

Some people have a problem not prioritizing what needs to be done over what we want to do! That’s laziness too. This type of slothfulness is choosing to do what you want to do over what you need to do. Others have a life that is a mess because they are not taking control. They have a cluttered workspace and a car full of old fast food wrappers. Others just love to sleep too much. That is a temptation for all of us because the God-ordained rhythm of work and rest can be abused. So get out of bed and get to work.

However, for most people, their laziness is not a lack of activity; it’s just the wrong kind of activity! Some people do not complete the tasks that are assigned to them or they do not finish them on time. Are you the kind of person who gets excited about new projects, but you do not complete them or you are having to constantly ask for extensions? Proverbs 12:27 talks about a lazy man who “doesn’t roast his game.” What an amazing picture! This person worked enough to get the meal—he did the hunt—but he will not work to finish it by cooking and preserving what he killed! Laziness can be the inability to finish tasks.

Many people struggle with laziness by being sidetracked by all kinds of diversions. Like the guy in the movie Office Space who says, “In an average week, I’d say I only do about twenty minutes of real, actual work.” Why? You don’t work as much as you could because you are checking Facebook all day, passing around YouTube clips, or calling in sick when Call of Duty is released. An article a few years back said that Angry Birds was costing businesses $1.5 billion in lost wages (Yarow, “Angry Birds”). When I posted that article, a Facebook friend commented on my post by saying, “At least 15 people I work with are playing Angry Birds continuously while they talk to customers 7 hours a day.” Diversion is sloth, and Proverbs says of this kind of laziness, “The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense” (12:11; cf. 28:19).

Some people just constantly procrastinate at work. They start assignments the day before they are due. They repeatedly put things off to another day. Procrastination is sloth. Some people are all talk and little action. They go to meetings and make big plans, but they do not follow through in the end. It is the husband who constantly says to his wife, “I’ll fix that,” but never gets around to it. Proverbs 14:23 says of this kind of laziness, “There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.” Do not say you will do something if you won’t!

Some people do not take the initiative to provide for their family. Maybe they try to avoid child support payments, or maybe they claim some illegitimate disability to get out of work. That is not just wrong; it’s ungodly. The Bible does not condemn those who are laid off or have a true disability, but some people just make excuses to avoid work or to delay having to do it! Proverbs 26:13 hilariously mocks this kind of sloth: “The slacker says, ‘There’s a lion in the road—a lion in the public square!’” This guy makes a “thin excuse” to avoid work, but it seems legitimate to him (Longman, Proverbs, 468).

I ( Jon) understand this. I used to get up at 4 a.m. to run with my youth pastor, but I would love the mornings it rained because it gave me an excuse not to run. It was the best of all worlds because I did not feel guilty about bailing, since “I can’t do it today anyway.” But I could have gone to the gym instead! It is the same with excuses for work. People who ask for benevolence help often tell me, “I’ll do any job that’s available. I just want to work.” Then I say, “OK. I know the manager at the grocery store over on Main. I can get you a job tomorrow stocking shelves.” Then they will say, “Oh, I can’t do that because I have a back problem.” They say that they will do anything, but unless it is a desk job making sixty thousand dollars a year with full benefits, they shoot down every job idea I give them. That is an excuse to not work! The best scenario (in our own minds) is to be able to convince ourselves that we are hard workers without having actually to expend the energy to be a hard worker. That is why Proverbs 26:16 says, “In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser than seven who can answer sensibly.” That is one of the keys about being lazy—you often do not know or think that you are! You think you are a hard worker when actually you are not.

Laziness is a destructive path not just because it will embarrass you, although it will, and not just because it’ll make it difficult for you to give your family what they need, although it will, and not just because it’ll make you a drain on the people around you, although it will (10:26); it is destructive because ultimately it will send you to hell. The wages of laziness is death. The desire for ease, comfort, and avoiding work kills you. Proverbs 21:25 states, “A slacker’s craving will kill him because his hands refuse to work.” Again, it may not turn out that way immediately because some lazy people inherit wealth, but it will turn out that way ultimately.

Proverbs 15:19 says, “A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge, but the path of the upright is a highway.” Again, it is not just that you will have difficulty making your way in this life as a lazy person, although you will; but according to Proverbs there are two paths that lead to two different destinations. One leads to life and the other to death, and laziness is the path to hell. Proverbs 18:9 says literally that a lazy person is a brother to the “master of destruction,” so you show yourself to be Satan’s brother if you are lazy. Therefore, judgment will fall. Sloth is not just ridiculous; it is destructive!

Our Laziness Points Us to Jesus

Laziness can be a sign of not being born again—lacking the new heart—and needing to be transformed. This is why Paul says to deal with this in the church: if you don’t work, you don’t eat (2 Thess 3:10). And Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” If you do not have a work ethic, there is no evidence that your faith is real; you are not believing the gospel. You may get up early, sit in your favorite chair, and read Scripture for an hour, but if you constantly procrastinate on your work assignments or cannot complete tasks that are assigned to you, then you have a problem with Jesus no matter how long your quiet time is! (Moore, “Finding Jesus”).

Solomon again points us to Jesus—the Wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:30). This pattern observed by the sage is centered on Christ, who upholds the world right now by his word. Your work ethic shows if you are walking toward or away from Jesus. That is, one way to know whether you are walking with Jesus is to look at your work ethic (1 Tim 5:8). The Wisdom of God on earth had a job as a carpenter. He learned and worked a trade! He also did the work his Father sent him to do. In John 4:34 Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” And in John 17:4 Jesus says, “I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (emphasis added). God worked to create the world and provide for humanity. He worked six days and finished his task, and then he rested. Jesus also worked six days of Holy Week, said “It is finished” on day six when he completed the work of new creation, and then rested in the garden tomb on the seventh day. As N. T. Wright poetically writes, “On the seventh day God rested in the darkness of the tomb; Having finished on the sixth day all his work of joy and doom” (“Easter Oratorio”). He did this to provide for us what we cannot provide for ourselves.

The proper response to laziness in our lives is to turn away from it and turn to Jesus, who perfectly imaged the Father by working. He died for all of us who fall short in our work ethic and offers us forgiveness and escape from hell. Then he transforms us by his Spirit into his image—the image of one who labors! God worked to create, produce, and provide food and a home for his children (Gen 1–2). Part of being made in his image means that we do the same. We have failed, and the image is now distorted; but it is still there. Wisdom restores the image! Wisdom in Proverbs works to build creation (Prov 8) and a house (Prov 9). The New Testament reveals that Jesus worked to create the world, he upholds the universe right now (Col 1; Heb 1), and he worked to make all things new. He prepares a home for his family ( John 14), and he feeds them ( John 6). Being saved means being conformed into the image of Christ, and that means work and production.

All of this includes work in terms of vocation but also non-vocation. We are called to produce and not just to consume in all kinds of areas of our lives. Proverbs talks about women who order the chaos and build homes (14:1; 31:10-31). So tasks such as decorating, cleaning, ­consigning, and changing diapers are not menial but rather are the way of wisdom—the way of Christ! This also means that in the body of Christ we are called to serve: keep the nursery, teach a Bible study class, and stack some chairs. This means that Christians should be the best employees. Managers and bosses around town should call local pastors and ask for more of their people because Christians show up on time, stay on task, and put in a good day’s work.

Work ethic is important for all kinds of reasons, and one reason is what God is preparing you for. Proverbs 12:24 says, “The diligent hand will rule, but laziness will lead to forced labor.” This does not just mean that you will be promoted if you work hard, though it is more likely you will. Humanity was called to rule the creation in the beginning, but we handed it over to the serpent. Solomon tells his son—a son who will rule Israel—a good work ethic is necessary to rule. This principle is fulfilled in the Greater Solomon who rules not only Israel but the whole world. He regains what was lost in Eden, and one day his kingdom will cover the entire cosmos. Jesus says that those who are faithful in the small things will be put in charge of many things (Matt 25). He says his followers will rule the universe with him, but in order to do that we are called to be faithful in the seemingly mundane things. As Russell Moore says, “We are in an internship for the eschaton right now” (“Finding Jesus”).^[44] As you change diapers, take out the trash, carry out the project assigned by your boss, deliver the package, and paint the wall, you are being prepared to be a king or queen of the universe.

Conclusion

We were called in the beginning to have dominion over the creeping things. Now in our fallen condition—in our lack of dominion over our lives—God calls us to look to the smallest of creeping things to learn from it: “Go to the ant, you slacker!” (6:6). This is an indictment that proves we need Jesus. We need to be made like him through the Gospel—made into the image of the one who said, “It is finished!”

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why do we see baptism as a spiritual concern but work ethic and provision as a secular one?
2. The ground curse of Genesis 3 means that work and provision are now difficult. How do some respond to this difficulty?
3. What is your typical picture of laziness?
4. What are some ways that we are lazy other than what we typically think of?
5. How can someone practically avoid diversions in their workday?
6. Why do we often procrastinate with deadlines? How can we fight against that?
7. Why do you think Paul says a failure to provide for your house is a possible sign of unbelief?
8. What are some things that Jesus worked to finish?
9. How does the end of the age cause your work right now to have great meaning?
10. What are some seemingly menial tasks around the house or in your church that you can engage in to train for eternity?