Lazy Daze

Proverbs 6:6-13 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy people. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazy people, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? NLT

Proverbs 6:6-13 NLT “The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!” They seem to always have an excuse for their inability to get what they need to do done, when in reality they just don’t want to put out the effort do their share of the work. How many times do you hear people say, “I don’t have time” for doing something that they truly needed to do, but if you followed them for a day they would be embarrassed at all the wasted time and activities they engage in daily? I realize that I may be talking about me and you.

¹⁴ As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. They spend they time sleeping, resting, sitting in front of the television, on the computer surfing or socializing, on the phone gabbing or texting, or somewhere playing games, where true responsibilities in life, necessities which they are accountable for, are being intentionally and willfully neglected. How are you & I?

¹⁵ Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth. What you don’t earn, you don’t own or value. For example, I remember other teenage kids who were given a car by their parents and how they neglected the upkeep, trashed the interior, and drove with reckless abandonment. But other kids who paid for the bill for their car and the maintenance/upkeep would value and protect their ride. It was their money that was being spent, so it was truly their vehicle. This principle is applicable to everything. We don’t take lightly, what we earned, deserved and paid for by our good hard work. It is good to be industrious, because this creates value. It has been said: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.”

¹⁶ Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors. I had a co-worker that would go out to a job and look for every reason that he could not do the job. At the end of the day, he would give the job print back to the boss with a list of all the reasons that he could not perform the work. The boss would then hand the job print to me and I would go out the next day and complete the work. It wasn’t that the work couldn’t be done, but the co-worker spent so much time in backwards thought and imagination to create intellectual arguments not to do the work. Instead of seeking ways to avoid, correct or eliminate obstacles, he manufactured them, so he wouldn’t have to do the work. Do we all do this in many other areas of our lives?

It is important that we keep our priorities straight. The most important thing in life is our salvation by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. We must also remember that we are not saved by the good and godly work that we do, but do have good and godly work to do that the Lord has put before the “workers in the kingdom of God”. We do not work to get saved from Hell, to God’s Heaven. There are no scales to determine if the “good” works outweigh our “sinful” works, so that we can earn our way in. Other false religions may say, “Do good works to reach heaven”, but Jesus says believe in me and “my finished work” on the Cross that paid for your sins and salvation. Christ said “It is finished” – Done. We do not work diligently, earnestly and honestly “to get saved”. Our Heavenly Father works and He has prepared good works for us. Jesus, our blessed Redeemer, worked and we desire always to please Him. We work, and we work hard, because we are saved. Laziness is not an option.

Ephesians 2:1-10 “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good works he planned for us long ago.” NLT

In Christ, Brian