Laziness

I’m taking a little time off for vacation with the family over the next couple of weeks. As people asked what we are doing, I found myself saying, “Being lazy… A lot of nothing…” Then I got to thinking about whether that was really the best way to spend my vacation. Is there a difference between relaxing and being lazy or unproductive? So went searching and found these…

- “The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work” (Prov 21:25)
- “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor” (Prov 12:24)
- “…it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:8-10).
- “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” (James 2:18).
- “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph 4:28).
- “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim 5:8);
- “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col 3:23-24);
- “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Heb 6:10).
- “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).

Are there areas in your life where you tend toward laziness and need to guard against? Is there an area where your are currently being lazy and need to repent? Is there something (internet or tv) or someone (another lazy person) that causes you to be lazy? What do you need Jesus to work in you so that he can work through you?