A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:10-11
It has been said that laziness is the secret ingredient of failure--yet that it is only a secret to the person who is lazy. Laziness can be an easy trap to fall into. We think that we can do tomorrow what should be done today. We would rather be doing something else instead of what matters. We can become complacent and think we have arrived and then we find ourselves not doing the things that brought us success or victory. Laziness can bring poverty or need in any area of our lives--physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.
The Bible has a lot to say about laziness. In the passage above God gives specific warning against laziness and says that the two result of being lazy will be poverty and need. That is such an important aspect for us to take a look at because we can easily find ourselves in need. Life is full of test and trials--both internal and external. If we become lazy we can find ourselves lacking in the moments of true need. We won't have the resources to make it through the trials that face us.
Again the Bible tells us that a lazy person's desire to do nothing will lead them to ruin. (Proverbs 21:25) The real danger of being lazy is the excuses that we come up with to justify it. This is the broken down wall of laziness. We justify our laziness and it sounds reasonable and sane to us. Being lazy is being the master of self-deception. The Bible says it like this: "The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes that seven men who can answer sensibly." (Proverbs 26:16). We have all been there or we have been with people who seem to make up any excuse to rationalize and justify being lazy.
We all have areas of laziness. Again, overcoming these areas of brokenness is not a simple process. Connecting to God and His Spirit will lead us to the place where He can begin to help us be overcomers. God's will is that we do everything with all our heart--as we are working for Him and not for others. (Colossians 3:23) As we draw close to Him, He will lead in the path of the diligent, and we will find that our souls and our lives are abundantly full. That is when we will find the joy of having plenty in time of need both for ourselves and for others.
Blessings to you!
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