Proverbs 19

Bible Passage:  Proverbs 19

This is an amazing book. Every verse rings true, and we would have experienced the things described in the book of Proverbs at some point of time in our own lives. Reading through this chapter alone brings up five types of characters we can learn from. Borrowing the concept of the Mr Men and Little Miss series, we have Mr Lazy, Miss Careless, Mr Untruthful, Miss Lack-Of-Understanding and Mr Shameless. Tell me if you manage to spot the others. Let us focus our attention on Mr/Ms Lazy today and discuss.

Mr/Ms Lazy

“Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.” (Proverbs 19:15)

^“He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.” (Proverbs 18:9)

The sloth is the slowest of mammalian creatures. A quick search in Wikipedia reveals that names for this animal used by tribes in Ecuador include ‘Ritto’, ‘Rit’ and ‘Ridette’, mostly forms of the word “sleep”, “eat” and “dirty”. In Brazil, sloths are commonly called ‘Bicho-preguiça’ (meaning lazy animal) because of their slow movements related to very low metabolism.

An expert in energy conservation, they move only to find food or as needed for other natural body functions. The climbing speed of the average sloth when not threatened with danger is about 6 feet per minute. They sleep the majority of any 24 hour period.

The lazy man tends to procrastinate. He delays doing a certain task until there is no more room for further delays. There is a lack of self-discipline. He then does a quick job to complete the task at hand, usually shoddily, and to the barest minimum. He also tends to deflect his responsibilities to another. All these are done to avoid having to work or to work as little as possible.

Laziness is destructive to self and to those around us. We suffer for our laziness, lagging behind others when it is well within our capabilities to catch up and improve on our current circumstances. Our unwillingness to act in a timely manner may also bring harm to others, and the consequences similar to one who seeks to destroy.

“A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.” (Proverbs 19:24)

“How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-
and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:9-11)

At times, a sloth will die hanging upside down from a tree limb and remain so after death, until they decompose or are forcibly removed.

A lazy man accumulates so much inertia that he cannot even bring himself to start working. He needs an external party to constantly push him into doing his work. The Bible encourages us to look at the littlest of creatures – the ants and learn from them. They take the initiative to gather food and prepare for the cold seasons, even without a commander in their midst.

Work for our Food

There are several titles in the Bible by which God is known, one of which is Jehovah Jireh (Gen 22:14). It means that He is our provider.

I came across a short online clip illustrating what our Lord generously provides us. He gives us:

§  Peace (Num 6:26; Eph 2:14)

§  Purpose (Rom 8:28; 2 Tim 2:21)

§  Healing (Ps 103:3; Ps 147:3)

§  Joy (Is 35:10)

§  A word (Neh 8:9)

§  A way (Is 43:19; 1 Cor 10:13)

§  An answer (Ps 3:4)

§  A rest (Matt 11:28)

§  The strength to endure (Josh 1:7,9)

§  The love for which we seek (Ecc 3:8)

§  The payment for our guilt (1 Cor 15:3)

§  A Saviour (Jn 3:16)

That is a very long list of blessings right? God provides us with these and more, but He also tells us that these are ours to enjoy only if we lead upright lives and work hard for them! For example, to know the purpose which God has for us, we need to invest some time in prayer and serve Him diligently. Also, God provides us rest (Prov 26:20), but if we enjoy gossiping about others or seek to make a name for ourselves, not vigilantly watching our own behaviours, then we have to bear with the ‘unrestful’ consequences of our irresponsible speech or worldly pursuits (Ecc 5:12).

Hence we diligently work for our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12-13), giving this important matter due attention. For what is more important on earth than this?

Here’s a sermon transcript I found online. It has quite a number of good points raised with regards to diligence and sloth as discussed in the Bible:

http://www.thegracetabernacle.org/sermon_text/gtst_02.0428.html

I’ll leave you with this concluding verse:

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

(Hebrews 6:11-12)

Study hard, work hard, and may God bless you!