" He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich." 

- Proverbs 10:4

"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 

And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 

Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man." 

- Proverbs 24:30-34 

 

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Proverbs 10:4 (our opening text) is the next verse in our journey through this wonderful book... and from a topical perspective, connects and contrasts some very interesting topics indeed !

 The mention of Riches makes us sit up and pay attention... ---- immediately to be deflated by... oh... --- there's work involved! How boring and trite....  and Poverty... oh please, let's not even talk about that, it's so depressing! Yet, the connection is there for all to see.... there is a definite connection between laziness/diligence, and poverty/riches. 

Don't believe us?... look at our second text this week...and imagine Solomon walking around town, coming upon this field, being amazed at the state of disrepair, and then slowly, slowly, the Lord gives Him understanding, and it dawns on him... why it is this way!

What a picture. A neglected, overgrown, unmaintained, vineyard.... the walls are breaking down, thorns and nettles all over the place... the lazy person looks at all that and says -- uh uh...that's too much work! The diligent person starts chipping away at it, clearing the brush, burning it, cleaning up the area, repairing and painting the wall -- not overnight, but steadily... and once it is back to normal... is careful about keeping the field/vineyard in good operating order! The lazy person missed out... the hard worker struck it rich! 

Idleness and laziness are never virtues in the Word. God works on the Sabbath. Christ was always mindful of, and always about, His Father's business. Lazy servants, who waste wealth entrusted to them are censured in the parables. Work is commanded for all -- from Adam in Genesis to the Apostle Paul ("For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. " - 2 Th 3:10).  

There is a lot of material to process here, but we will look at it through the following related perspectives:

1. The negative : Laziness, Slothfulness & (consequently related) Idleness, Poverty, Want.

This is a form of ---foolishness---  see our second text - the state of the field of the --slothful, is the same as.... the one of the man --void of understanding.

2. The positive : Diligence, Industry, Labor & (consequently related) Work, Riches, Plenty.

These concepts are diametrically opposed ... "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute." - Prov 12:24 Here is wisdom!

We will start with the negative -- (as our text does)... and then look at the positive.

SET A: The Mindset of the Lazy/Slothful.

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Even when dealing with the negative, the Word does it with much humor... a lazy person is actually really busy and active at avoiding work! The excuses are many, and the results few if any.... here are some proverbs that illustrate that ?

The takeway instruction received in our second text this week from Prov 24, is actually first found in Prov 6... Picture if you will ... a dad dragging his lazy son by the ear to an anthill .... and there saying.. 

Prov_6:6-11 " Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. --How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?-- when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: --So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.-- "

Sounds exactly something a frustrated Dad would say... "How long will your lazy a-- be sleeping.... ? When are you going to get up ? Man, I'm telling you...if you keep this up, and don't change, your a-- is gonna be POOR  !!  "  { Modern Urban Translation ? }

And the excuses... always the excuses....

Pro_22:13  The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. 

Pro_26:13  The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. 

(Hey, at least they are CREATIVE!!!)

Pro 26:16  The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. 

Pro 20:4  The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

Pro 15:19  The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain. 

This last one may or may not be excuse-related. The Lazy see an imaginary hedge of thorns between them and their goal, and they are discouraged... the righteous set forth, and find that those thorns are no longer an issue!

Pro_26:14  As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. 

What a picture of a person just yawning and stretching, turning to sleep on one side, and then another !! They have just about as much sense as a door...

Pro_26:15  The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. 

This is an example of hyperbole ... the lazy person can't even be bothered to to move his hand to feed himself.... its too much work!!!!!

And God forbid you should ask them to DO anything for you....

Pro_10:26  As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. 

You're better off doing it yourself!! ?

The Word goes deeper ... 

Pro_18:9  He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Here is a link to another concept ... WASTE is akin (literally) to slothfulness. The Lazy waste their time here on earth, not to mention, being slack causes them to waste their substance, and hence suffer want.

Pro_13:4  The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. 

If wishes were horses.... just wanting something and "having the faith for it" is not enough. You may be given a dream or a vision, but you will have to work to make it come true. Thomas Edison once said, "Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration." 

Diligence carries with it the notion of patiently PERSEVERING ... and that is the action that DEMONSTRATES that you have faith through your actions ... it's not just vain and empty hoping for a miracle!

Pro_19:15  Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.  

Here you see the connection between the spiritual virus of Slothfulness... its symptom (love of sleep)...and the idleness comes with a consequence of hunger and want.

The existence of poverty is sometimes laid at the door of the Lord... and He does take responsibility for allowing the poor to exist. However, not all poverty is the result of the Lord's sovereign will... as you can see, Sin causes a lot of self-inflicted wounds.

Wisdom lies in soberly assessing our current state -- are we lazy? Can we do better with the 24 hours each one of us is given every single day? 

In the book of Matthew, we are told a parable about laborers being hired for work, over the course of a day. The last lot to be hired is a little special .... . 

"And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others --standing idle--, and saith unto them, 'Why stand ye here all the day --idle? 'They say unto him,' Because no man hath hired us.'  He saith unto them, 'Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. '

These are people standing idle, AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR, because NO MAN has hired them. 

The parable doesn't support this conclusion, but it is interesting to view that last lot of laborers as people like us - ordinary joes. The Religious/Organized church system may not hire a lot of the CHURCH that are actually blessed with spiritual gifts (for a variety of reasons). 

That, however, is no excuse to be standing around idle!

In this ELEVENTH HOUR, are we not to be about our Fathers business of showing His Love to the people around us? (Our vineyard!). 

Be encouraged that even if no HUMAN is willing to employ you, the LORD is more than willing to have  you labor in His vineyard, and give you what IS RIGHT --- the same wages He paid everyone else!

Let us not make excuses for being idle, but shine our light where we are!

Hallelujah!!