Proverbs 6:6-11; 10:2-5; 24:30-34 — listen to the Bible’s warnings against slothfulness!
It’s summer — get busy! — Proverbs and the Book of John record some of God’s serious warnings against slothfulness
I believe God had me (and you) in mind when He “wired” certain instincts into the ant. And then gave us strong warnings against slothfulness.
God gave us far higher intelligence and far greater capability for wisdom than He chose to give the ant. We ought to act according to deliberate choices guided by intelligence and wisdom, not mere instinctive programming.
God is addressing a certain type of immaturity or character flaw: lazy irresponsibility (Proverbs 6:6).
God has certain lessons He conveys by certain behaviors of an ant (Proverbs 6:7,8).
- Know when it’s time to work.
- Work when it’s time to work.
- Know your job and do it. (Be a good steward of your abilities, responsibilities, and opportunities.)
- Look to the future to help direct your present.
- Be self-motivated.
Listen to these warnings in Proverbs 6:10…
- The slowness of the arrival of the consequences of laziness and irresponsibility does not change the certainty of that arrival. (Remember: travel then was slow and steady.)
- The apparent lack of danger from the consequences of laziness and irresponsibility is only an illusion. (Remember: a robber was prone to strike suddenly and without warning.)
- Though the consequences be delayed, they are certain and they are vicious.
We know the day-to-day, work-a-day applications. You don’t need me to make them practical. We also know church life applications. And we even know the easy-to-forget applications to our mission on earth…but I’ll close with these two reminders along that line:
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth” (John 4:35-37).
“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Proverbs 10:5).
(The above is an adaptation of a Sunday evening talk I gave at our church the night of February 12, 2017: “Consider the Ant.”)
So you would rather be fishing?
“Work is for those who don’t know how to fish.” “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!” “I’d rather be shopping.” People have all manner of slogans and bumper stickers by which they express a certain work ethic or disposition toward work. Some are humorous, others are pathetic, but they all reveal an attitude toward work which hardly becomes the Christian.
So tell me, what should be our attitude toward work? Or to put it another way, what’s so great about work?
- Work exercises body or mind.
- Work builds and fortifies character.
- Work enables service.
- Work makes people productive.
So, if you would “rather be fishing,” then perhaps you should join a fishing crew. Or become a missionary and fish for souls!
(Do read my full article from a few years back: Warnings Against Lazyness.)
You have already been called!
What would it take to convince you that God wants you to serve Him in some “special” field of service? What kind of “sign” would you require before you would be a missionary, a teacher or a preacher? Maybe just the right feeling under the right circumstances. Maybe a very pointed verse giving you “the shivers” in a unique sort of way. Maybe the specific call of the church. Maybe a clearer vision of the need that exists. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
I have long wondered, though, why we are so predisposed to think that we even need any further calls from God to do His work on earth! Hasn’t He already told us that we are to go (John 20:21; Matthew 18:19,20)? Hasn’t He already told us we are His ambassadors here to plead with men in His stead (2 Corinthians 5:18,20)? Has He not already given us the talents to use to increase His holdings (Luke 19:23)?
Then why do we dally and tarry and fall asleep? Perhaps we have to deal with issues of faith, obedience, wealth, vision, mission, and slothfulness. We have grown too comfortable doing little or the so-called “bare minimum” for the King and His kingdom. Where is our zeal?! Where is our fear of God? What about judgment?
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together” (John 4:35,36).
“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Proverbs 10:5).
“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).
Excerpted from Facing Personal Responsibility
Additional reading about warnings against slothfulness
