A little work never hurt anybody?

Proverbs 12:24 says to “Work hard and become a leader” .

If you look at the first part of the verse God calls us to work hard and become a leader: a leader not so much as a manager, but as an example to others.  People will see your hard work and want to know why you are doing what you are doing.  This will give you an opportunity to tell them about Christ.

When we are lazy the opposite will happen.  Our witness will dwindle as will our reputation.

Why is laziness so bad?

Now look at the second part of this verse. Proverbs 24b “be lazy and become a slave”.

If we are lazy it is no benefits to others or us.  We are slaves to our lifestyle, never moving forward but always staying right where we are.  This means that we are dependent on others to help support us and take care of us sometimes physically most of the time spiritually.  God calls for us to do our best for His sake not ours.

The funny thing is that when you work for the Lord it does not seem like work but more of a pleasure.  If you do not think that God frowns upon laziness look up these other verses in Proverbs.

18:9 A lazy person is as bad as a someone who destroys things. 

21:25 the desires of lazy people will be their ruin

Well you get the picture.   In the end person’s laziness will be their ruin.

What happens to us when we are lazy?

Proverbs 24:34 says that a little extra sleep, a little more slumber a little folding of hands to rest- and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit.

This verse shows us that laziness will bring a person down to the point of being impoverished both in physical needs as well as spiritual.  There are two things to point out here.  When we are lazy we end up being a burden on systems like welfare and church aid which means that some people who really need the help are not going to get it.  If we are able to do are share we should be doing it.

The same is true of Spiritual needs.  If as a brother or sister in Christ we are not doing our share to further the Kingdom of Christ here on earth that means that others who are serving God will have a heavier burden to carry.   I read somewhere that if everyone who claims to be a Christian did his or her share of the work this country would see a revival the likes of that has never been seen before.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record but from these verses in Proverbs you can see the dire consequences of laziness.  Not only is laziness a physical problem, because it is the root cause of things like obesity, but it is also a spiritual problem because it makes us weak an ineffective when it comes to our service to the Lord. 

In closing remember these words of Paul in Romans 12:11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically