10 June 2023 - Not giving it your all

Laziness is an unwillingness to spend energy. It is an unwillingness to do any work that can be imagined to be difficult and uncomfortable. It is the desire to do nothing and to be idle.

People love feeling lazy because of the immense pleasure they get from lying around and doing nothing. Little do they know; that laziness has its bad qualities.

There are various reasons for laziness:

• Lack of motivation can cause this problem when you are unwilling to do any work.

• Low energy due to the lack of sleep, rest, and exercise.

• Unwilling to work for fear of being held responsible for the outcome or result.

• Depression due to lack of courage and hope in their life

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:4 (NLT) Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.

Laziness in Solomon’s days describe farmers who made excuses for not working their fields.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT) Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

Proverbs 26:13 (NLT) The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”

Whenever the Bible mentions laziness, it clearly states the dangers that come with it. This should be a warning to us not to become lazy.

Proverbs 6:6-11 (MSG) You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!

If we’re lazy, we won’t put in the effort to understand God’s word or serve other people.

Hebrews 5:11-12 (CSB) We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.

1 Timothy 6:12 (GNT) Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you . . .

I conclude with Colossians 3:23 (ESV) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,