Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,so is the sluggard to those who send him.
Proverbs 10:26 (ESV)
The statue to the left was sculpted in 1851 by Frederic Lord Leighton. Originally created to be on display at the Royal Academy, the statue depicts a grown man just awakened from sleep.
Sleep is wonderful, and in fact, very healthy. Long ago, one of my spiritual mentors told me that sometimes one of the most spiritual things you can do is take a nap. Often we become so overworked and over stressed that sleep becomes as necessary as it is holy. This is advice I have passed on to many others.
When the bible refers to sluggards, it is not talking about those who need or require sleep. It is referring to people who are lazy. The sluggard may be someone who holds a steady job, but in their heart they are lazy, self-indulgent individuals.
A few years back in Seminary I met a younger gentleman who was just beginning his first year. I worked in the school's bookstore, and we quickly built a friendship. Being a few years ahead of him in the program, he would come to me for research tips and general questions. "Seminary", he said, "is really tough, and I don't know what I'm doing". Then he asked for some help on an upcoming paper.
I didn't mind helping, and quickly led him to several important resources. He returned with more questions, unable to understand what the resources where saying. I read through the important passages for him and provided him a written summary. Again he returned, citing difficulty writing his paper. I gladly sat down with him and helped him form thoughts into words. Only after the project was complete did it dawn upon me that perhaps I crossed a line, and that his paper was really more my ideas than his own.
The next week he appeared again, and the week after that. For 6 weeks this practice went on, until I finally identified the real problem: the man was a sluggard. He was too lazy to do his own work, and too lazy to learn how to do it.
Do you realize that God values hard work? No, it won't get you into heaven--faith in Christ alone will do that--but born-again believers do bring honor and glory to God when we work hard. A lazy Christian is a scourge upon the Church, and a shameful thing for the local body.
Brothers and sisters, work hard for the glory of your God.
Sleep is wonderful, and in fact, very healthy. Long ago, one of my spiritual mentors told me that sometimes one of the most spiritual things you can do is take a nap. Often we become so overworked and over stressed that sleep becomes as necessary as it is holy. This is advice I have passed on to many others.
When the bible refers to sluggards, it is not talking about those who need or require sleep. It is referring to people who are lazy. The sluggard may be someone who holds a steady job, but in their heart they are lazy, self-indulgent individuals.
A few years back in Seminary I met a younger gentleman who was just beginning his first year. I worked in the school's bookstore, and we quickly built a friendship. Being a few years ahead of him in the program, he would come to me for research tips and general questions. "Seminary", he said, "is really tough, and I don't know what I'm doing". Then he asked for some help on an upcoming paper.
I didn't mind helping, and quickly led him to several important resources. He returned with more questions, unable to understand what the resources where saying. I read through the important passages for him and provided him a written summary. Again he returned, citing difficulty writing his paper. I gladly sat down with him and helped him form thoughts into words. Only after the project was complete did it dawn upon me that perhaps I crossed a line, and that his paper was really more my ideas than his own.
The next week he appeared again, and the week after that. For 6 weeks this practice went on, until I finally identified the real problem: the man was a sluggard. He was too lazy to do his own work, and too lazy to learn how to do it.
Do you realize that God values hard work? No, it won't get you into heaven--faith in Christ alone will do that--but born-again believers do bring honor and glory to God when we work hard. A lazy Christian is a scourge upon the Church, and a shameful thing for the local body.
Brothers and sisters, work hard for the glory of your God.
Prayer
Merciful Father,
Grant me opportunities to work for your glory.
May I recognize in each task an opportunity
to serve you. You are my master.
All the works of my hands are performed
soley for your service.
Amen.
Merciful Father,
Grant me opportunities to work for your glory.
May I recognize in each task an opportunity
to serve you. You are my master.
All the works of my hands are performed
soley for your service.
Amen.
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