Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 19:15

by David Chadwick

"Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger." Proverbs 19:15

Slothfulness. Defined as the "state or habit of being lazy, indolent, or inactive." According to the Bible, this behavior casts people into a deep sleep and leaves them hungry.

Did you know that within Christian theology, the historical church actually came up with what is called the "seven deadly sins?" While all sin is horrific in the sight of a holy God, these are historically the worst of the worst sins that can cause the most harm to us and others.

Here is the list of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and… are you ready for #7? Sloth! Laziness. A bent toward apathy and a refusal to work.

A lazy person is always too tired to work. Too exhausted to lift a finger. Or has excuses as to why they can't work. As laziness and slothfulness become more and more severe, poverty becomes inevitable.

God created us to work. His intent was for work to be good and enjoyable. His original design was to invite us to participate with him in creating something, look at it, and say, "Well done!" There's no better feeling than to have accomplished a hard task.

Hard work leads you to feel pride at an accomplishment. God knows that! Paul even said to the Thessalonian Christians, who were sitting around and not working at all, waiting every day for Jesus to return, that if they didn't work, they wouldn't eat (1 Thessalonians 3:10). Hunger is a great antidote to laziness! If someone gets hungry enough, he or she will work!

My prayer is that those who profess Christ will learn the value of developing a strong work ethic. That we will have a high value for excellence and working hard! We must overcome laziness.

Discipline your body to work hard and train yourself to see accomplishments. Make sure to teach your children, if you have them, the value of hard work. Try giving them an allowance and teaching them about generosity as well.

In all you do, work for God's glory. Work with all your heart for the Lord, not for man (Colossians 3:23). God is the ultimate boss. Give him your very best.