Articles
“Laziness”
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
Proverbs 6:9-10
The "sluggard" is a figure of "tragi-comedy" (Derek Kidner): comedy because he is funny; tragedy because only sin can so debase a person. The image bearers of God were not meant to yawn through life. The wise are meant to read Proverbs and see their own inner sluggard (1:5-6), telling them to sleep when they should rise, rest when they should work, and eat when they should move. The wise know the sluggard is not an abnormality but an ordinary person who has made too many excuses. Laziness develops as imperceptibly and pleasantly as falling asleep. Let's look at four sayings of our inner sluggard.
"I need just a little more" (Prov. 6:9-11; 24:30-34; 19:24). These words are the sluggard's favorite response to wisdom. Laziness often lies behind that seemingly innocuous phrase "just a little more." What harm could a little do? What is one more snooze cycle? One more refreshing of the social media timeline? One more episode? Not much by itself, perhaps, but ten thousand "little mores" piled on top of one another amounts to quite a lot. Sluggards develop habits one small surrender at a time.
But this works both ways. Diligence develops habits by facing one small unpleasant task at a time. "A little labor, a little energy, a little moving of the hands to work" gets the job done. Instead of stacking up small surrenders, the diligent stack small successes by the strength which God supplies. Over time, how we handle the little things has a big effect (Mt. 25:23).
"I can do it tomorrow" (Prov. 20:4; 19:15; 24:30-34). If the sluggard's conscience should protest against "just a little more," he has another word at his disposal that rarely fails: tomorrow. In Palestine, autumn is the season for plowing and planting while summer is the season of the harvest. For some reason, "the sluggard does not plow in autumn" (perhaps, as the KJV suggests "by reason of the cold"). He justifies putting off work in the hope he could always do it tomorrow. But then he wakes up with nothing. The time for planting and plowing has passed. Tomorrow came but by then it was too late.
We often do this. The conversation we should initiate today or the forgiveness we should seek today is put off until tomorrow. Whatever is put off today is harder to seek tomorrow. We may find that the opportunity has slipped away. Wisdom teaches us to take the farmer's view of life. That is, we must take advantage of the season rather than living by our feelings. We can't finish a work we never start (Prov. 14:23). We are not promised tomorrow anyway (Jas. 4:14). Therefore, the old adage is true: "don't put off for tomorrow what can be done today."
"I would be putting myself at risk" (Prov. 22:13; 26:13). Indulging a bad excuse is a little like feeding a pigeon: give bread to one and more will come. Bad excuses breed bad (and worse) excuses over time. When a loved one refuses to entertain the sluggard's "littles" and "tomorrows," he takes more radical measures: "haven't you seen the lion roaming the streets? I'll die!" It sounds absurd but "laziness is a great lion-maker. He who does little dreams much" (Spurgeon). There is no shortage of dangers, real or imagined, in the world which the sluggard can use to excuse himself from his duties. If there is something we don't want to do our inner sluggard will concoct an excuse.
On the other hand, wisdom teaches us to prioritize our duties with no excuses. If something is truly important to us, we will find a way to see it done. This involves taking some risk but, as with all important things in life, the greater risk would be doing nothing. We should never avoid doing what ought to be done because it is "dangerous" or "risky." "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God" (Heb. 10:31). We must fear God above any potential risk for doing what is right (Mt. 10:28).
"You don't know the pressures I'm under" (Prov. 26:12-16). The sluggard disguises his laziness with euphemisms. He is not a shirker but a realist (v.13); he is not self-indulgent but just not a morning person (v.14); he is not lazy but doesn't want to be rushed (v.15); he even regards himself as wise (v.12). Our laziness often becomes apparent when we try to defend ourselves against it. Self-pity is another favorite excuse because the sluggard's work is always the hardest work, his excuses are the best excuses, his diversions are the most reasonable diversions - no matter what others might say.
But the wise learn to be distrustful of their own hearts (Jer. 17:9). They "lean not" on their own understanding but trust in the Lord (Prov. 3:5). Rather than responding to challenges with the self-pitying excuse "Don't you see my burdens?" they remember their proneness to folly and learn to ruthlessly condemn their inner sluggard.
Christ provides us with the pattern for all things. He was not a "workaholic" (he knew how to rest, feast, sleep, and enjoy himself) but he also knew how to work. Scripture speaks of the "steadfastness of Christ" (1 Thess. 3:5), his diligence in working while it was day (Jn. 9:4). He plowed in the autumn, forsaking every excuse, and reaped in due season. He never cried out "Lion!" but walked into the lion's den for us (Psa. 22:21). Therefore, Paul tells the sluggard, "Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." (2 Thess. 3:12).
