TEXT: Proverbs 26:13-16

SUBJECT: Exposition of Proverbs #17: Sloth

The Book of Proverbs is divided into two unequal sections. The first nine chapters are a long discourse on wisdom in contrast to folly. Chapters ten and following continue the theme, but in a different way. Solomon turns to short, forceful sayings. They're meant to be memorized; we'd do well to load up on them.

Tonight's topic is sloth or laziness. Let's begin with a brief definition. Sloth is a dislike for work. It, like other sins, may be extreme, moderate, or mild. A man I grew up with is the ultimate example: At forty years old, he has never held a real job. He lives with his aged mother and mooches off of her small pension and social security checks. Most lazy people are not so extreme. Yet sloth in moderation is still sloth. And is still displeasing to Jesus Christ. In the study of this theme, therefore, let's examine ourselves, confess our sins, and seek the Lord for grace to overcome them.

By my count the slothful man appears seventeen times in Proverbs. The picture is not flattering. Derek Kidner has called him "A figure of tragi-comedy". We'd laugh at him--if we weren't crying.

Kidner, I think, has organized the teaching well. He describes the lazy man in under four headings. I'll follow his lead.

The lazy man will not begin things.

He often has big plans. 13:4 says: "The soul of the sluggard desires..." The word implies an intense craving. He wants a great career, high pay, and prestige galore. He thinks about it all day and dreams of it all night. He's loaded with ambition.

He likes nothing more than discussing his big plans. 14:23 has it: "In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty". He's always bending someone's ear. He's not doing much now, but one of these days...

And so, the lazy man is a big dreamer and talker, but he's not much of a doer. Why not? Chiefly because he puts things off. 24:33 describes a man whose farm is a mess due to many years of neglect. Why did he allow it to become so overgrown? Here's why: "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands". The key word is "little". He intends to weed his fields and to prune his trees. But not just yet. Tomorrow will do. But, of course, tomorrow never comes.

Why does he put things off? Because he prefers comfort to effort. Planning to work is easier than work; talking about work is easier than work. Work takes work. The sluggard is averse to that. 26:14 has it: "As a door turns on its hinges, so does the slothful man on his bed".

Never suppose the lazy man has no ambition, no plans, no dreams. He may be full of them. But he lacks the will to put his dreams into action. Why? Because it's easier to dream than it is to work.

Some lazy people have the gumption to start things. They start college; they start jobs; they start their own businesses. But they don't get much further than that. They have the will to start things, but not the discipline or the courage or the patience to see them through.

Such a man is portrayed is in 12:27: "The slothful man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man's precious possession". The picture is ludicrous: A man has risen early in the morning, hunted all day, and bagged a pheasant; he plucked it, cleaned it, and took it home. He lit the oven, greased the pan...and decided to quit.

26:15 makes it more ridiculous: "The slothful man buries his hand in the bowl; it wearies him to bring it to his mouth". The man has worked up the energy to cook his pheasant; he takes it out of the oven, places it on the serving dish, carves it gracefully, puts a thick slice on his plate, puts the fork into the meat, and...gives up.

The lazy man is a quitter. His quitting is largely due to unrealistic expectations. Because we live in a fallen world, every job is hard! The curse pronounced on Adam applies to all: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread". It is hard to sit behind a desk all day. It is hard to drive nails all day. It is hard to change diapers all day. It is hard to work for someone. It is hard to work for yourself. Work, in short, is hard. All work is hard. The lazy man needs to dispense with his fantasies, and face the truth about life under the curse.

Unpleasant working conditions make him quit. "The sluggard will not plow because of the winter" says 20:4. Cold weather deterred him from work. We have our analog: long commutes, inconvenient hours, noisy factories, and so on.

Possible risks make him quit. "The slothful man says, `There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion in the streets'". We mustn't expose ourselves to danger needlessly. But many perils are nowhere but in our heads. We call them "worries"--what might happen. Mark Twain quipped: "I have suffered many things in life and most of them never happened". The slothful man broods over these "what ifs". They make him quit or lose his job.

Obnoxious people make him quit. Everyone works with exasperating people. The hard working man accepts this and copes with them in one of three ways: by "covering all sin" (cf.10:12) or by rebuking them" (cf.9:8) or by accepting their aggravations as "the chastening of the LORD" (cf. 3:11). But a lazy man, looking for a way out, finds it in his unreasonable boss, his unlikable colleague, or his unreliable subordinate.

Sloth is a branch of cowardice. The lazy man is not only short on energy and discipline, he's short on courage. He's called to "Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ". And that means facing up to the inevitable problems of work.

There is a material consequence. "He who deals with a slack hand becomes poor" says 10:4. "An idle soul shall suffer hunger" 19:15 has it. "Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty" says 20:13. These verses must not be taken alone. Hard workers often suffer poverty. Our Lord Jesus, for example, was diligent, but had "Nowhere to lay His head". The exceptions, however, don't disprove the rule. Much poverty is the direct result of laziness. If you don't want to be poor, you had better go to work.

There is a social consequence. 20:30ff. tell us about it. The man who let his farm go wild became an object of contempt. Wise men reflected on his sloth and shuddered. Fathers took their sons to the farm to show them what they mustn't become. Were the observers heartless and cruel? They weren't. They were wise. They may have pitied the poor man, but they did not respect him. Nor could they. Let's be candid: If you won't work, you'll become an outcast with good people. I said "good people" not proud and malicious people. How do I know that? Because God commands it.

Most of us like to be well thought of. There is nothing wrong with this, if it does not require sin. In fact it is good. "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches" says 22:1. If you want a "good name" you must work. Otherwise, people will think ill of you--whatever they say to your face.

There is a spiritual consequence. "The way of the slothful man is like a hedge of thorns" says 15:9. Picture a man trapped in a huge sticker bush. That discomfort corresponds to the pain a lazy man feels deep down inside of him. He's weary, bored, guilty, and ashamed. Things only get worse until he repents of his sloth and goes to work.

There is an eternal consequence. Sloth is a sin. Unless it is repented of, it is no less damning than unbelief.

The consequences of sloth are frightful, aren't they? They're meant to be.

It begins with meditation on our Lord Jesus Christ. It is hard to think of Him, of His unceasing labors, and to remain indolent.

Pray for the grace of industry. "Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of Lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning".

Seek the help of your Christian brethren. Make yourself accountable to them. Confess your wrongs to them; seek their prayers.

Replace the bad habits of sloth with the good habits of industry. It won't take as long as you think. Every day you get out of bed early makes the next day's rising that much easier.

Remember that all of your work (from the office to the garden) is sacred. Nothing is meaningless. Nothing will go unnoticed by the Lord Jesus. Nothing will go unrewarded. Therefore,

"Whatever you do, do it heartily

As to the Lord and not to men

Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive

the reward of the inheritance;

For you serve the Lord Christ,

in singleness of heart, fearing God".