Laziness (Part 1)

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Many times in Christianity we think about, confess, and strategically plan how not to do the “big” sins. For men pornography, lusting, pride, etc., always gets confessed with accountability partners. Women tend to deal with control, insecurity with who they are, etc. However in the midst of all of these “big” things going on (which are serious offenses), I think we often miss out on some of the more stealth sins, that are just as deadly (if not more deadly) as the large ones. One of these sins is the sin of laziness.

Laziness is something that I feel like I deal with on a continual basis, and the Lord has been gently rebuking me about this. It is something I deal with because I don’t know how to properly rest (which I will be talking about in the second post on laziness). Throughout this blog though I want to look at the sin of laziness, and what Scripture says about it, and why it is so offensive. 

The book of Proverbs is littered with wisdom against laziness (being a sloth, or being a sluggard or idle). Prov. 10:26, 12:27, 12:24, 19:24, 20:4, 21:25, 24:30-34, 26:15, 19:5, etc. I want to briefly exegete four of these Proverbs:

• Proverbs 15:19- Scripture shows that laziness actually stirs up trouble for the sluggard, and makes life harder for him, as if walking “through a field of thorns.” This is like when you wait until 4 hours left to finish a project you’ve had for six weeks! Instead of being diligent and working, you were probably being lazy, making life harder.
• Proverbs 6:6-11- The ant is the opposite of lazy. He is diligent. And even though he has no one “ruling” over him, he gets done what he needs to get done, and is rewarded for it.
• Proverbs 13:4- The lazy man wants things, but never actually puts in the effort to get them. This leads to entitlement, another deadly sin that our generation greatly deals with (probably from being so lazy!).
• Proverbs 22:13- The lazy person makes senseless excuses to not get done what needs to get done, causing harm for everyone around him.

See laziness is a sin because God has clearly called us to work, and be diligent with the time He has given to us here on this earth. Ephesians 5:15-17 shows us that the days are evil, and we need to get stuff done, not be foolish and silly with our time! Paul took so seriously the man who was lazy that he said to break fellowship with him, and to not let him eat (2 Thes. 6-15)! Those are pretty harsh, deep words, yet is shows the seriousness of this sin. Heck, even in our pursuit of the Lord we ought not be lazy but passionate (Rom. 12:11). 

Laziness also leads to several other sins. This was David’s problem with Bathsheba. In 2 Sam. 11:1 we see that it was the springtime, meaning the kings were off at war. However, David decided to stay back for some reason. Why? Now, I will confess Scripture doesn’t actually say he was lazy, yet I think it is pretty safe to assume. Israel was doing great, conquering tons of nations, why not just take a break for a while? We also see later in the story that when David brought Uriah back to sleep with his wife to cover everything up, Uriah was like, “No dude. Why would I sleep with my wife when I am supposed to be out there fighting the war with the rest of my men?” Probably shaming David in the process! Laziness is what likely lead David into sin. Not doing what he was supposed to be doing put him in a compromising position. I know, with guys especially, the same is often true with us

Laziness is such a threat that Jesus himself warns very strongly against it. In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-29, Jesus gives a sharp rebuke to the servant who was lazy. He actually says, “You wicked and slothful servant!” Then he throws him into hell… WHAT?!?! Wow. Now, obviously this guy was not a believer, but God said that he was lazy (probably in pursuing the truth about who God was), and the end result for him was eternal separation. In a somewhat parallel story (although I believe they are different parables) in Luke 19:11-27 Jesus also condemns the lazy servant.  This time it seems as if he gets into heaven, yet all of his rewards are stripped away from him. 

Laziness is serious, and something not to be fooled around with. We would be wise to be diligent, and seek out what the Lord would have us do for Him and His glory. This actually leads to our joy in Him, which is much better then the “nothingness” laziness gives you anyway! Laziness does nothing but steals your joy from you in the long run, why would you give into that? 

I think we often dive into laziness because we feel like “we deserve” a break, because of how hard we have been working. I know this is what I do, and it is usually not even true. God rewards the diligent man, yet obviously laziness is not smiled upon. I could go on and on, yet I think Scripture is pretty clear about itself, don’t be lazy! Laziness is a cheap substitute for genuine rest, which we will look at in the next blog post.