Mammas, Don't let your Babies grow up to be Lazy

 Read Proverbs 19

In the next service, I will talk about the poor.  We need to understand that not all poor people are lazy.  Some are.  Some are not.  Counsel on the poor comes later, but for now, let’s talk about the lazy.

Laziness brings on deep sleep,

    and the shiftless go hungry.

Lazy, slothful, sluggard, and now shiftless are not compliments.  These terms are descriptive, but we might also consider them derogatory.  Nobody gains esteem by their slothfulness.

No coach ever said, “We’re not big but we’re slow.” “We don’t have much talent, but we’re lazy.”

Nobody wants to be called lazy or shiftless. What is it to be shiftless?  It’s characterized by laziness, indolence, or lack of ambition.

So, what is indolence?  It is to be characterized by lack of activity or exertion.

It is kin to the two pagan gods of this age—apathy and ambivalence.

What’s the bottom line here?  The lazy go hungry.

Solomon is not through yet. 

A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

    he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

There is a degree of laziness that won’t even take the morsel of food from the dish to the mouth. 

Oh, life is so hard.  I don’t think I can make it.

The sluggard ignores the fact that someone had to plant, harvest, grind, prepare, and cook the dish set before him, but lifting his hand to his mouth is just too hard.

Surely this is just hyperbole.  Surely, Solomon exaggerates to make his point, but not too much.  There are people who are in this boat.  They will find a reason not to do the little required to help themselves.

They won’t fill out the paperwork to get their children the free lunch.  They won’t come to the church to get some food.  They won’t go fill out the form to get help with utility bills.

Why won’t people just do this for me?  It’s not that hard. C’mon, just fill out the form for me, deliver the food, lift the spoon from the bowl to my mouth.

This is not Solomon’s first depiction of the lazy. It’s not his first laziness rodeo.

Go to chapter 10.

Lazy hands make for poverty,

    but diligent hands bring wealth.

He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,

    but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

There is more counsel in chapter 12.

Those who work their land will have abundant food,

    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

Diligent hands will rule,

    but laziness ends in forced labor.

The list goes on and sometimes Solomon talks directly to the sluggard. .

Why is Solomon telling us this?  Surely the slothful are too lazy to read and take heed.  Why tell us?

Is it so we can walk around pointing at people saying, “Lazy” or “that one’s a sluggard” or “he’s shiftless for sure?”

No.  Why does he give us this counsel?  Why give it to those who seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness?  Why give it to those seeking God’s wisdom?

You know.  Bring up a child…

The person who is destitute because he has been lazy all of his life isn’t looking for change, at least not change in himself.  He wants you to finish the job.  Lift the spoon of food from the bowl to his mouth.  Feed him like a helpless baby. 

Don’t expect much efficacy trying to convey God’s wisdom to the lazy.  It’s kin to sharing wisdom with a fool.

But where you can make a difference is with a child.  Teach them a good work ethic.  Whether they choose to work as a professional that uses mostly their minds or one that uses their hands more than others, teach them the value of work.

You would think there would be a standard for work.  There is!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

How do you keep your kids from becoming lazy?  Teach them that whatever they do they should do it as if they were working directly for the Lord.

If your children are disrespectful, your correct them.  If they use bad language, you correct them.  If they use bad grammar, you corre—ok, this is Oklahoma, we will skip that one.

You discipline your children because you love them.  Don’t let them fall victim to laziness.

One last footnote and we will conclude.  Rest is not laziness.  Those who work need rest.  Remember work 6 and rest 1 was not for God’s benefit but ours.

I like to say there is no Sabbath to take in a life without purpose.  Someone living out their purpose needs rest on a recurring basis.  Those without purpose—those who subscribe to laziness—do not.

Don’t confuse rest and laziness and don’t let your children learn laziness.  It’s very hard to unlearn.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Amen.