The sluggard sees an obstacle in every opportunity. Though he can’t hold down a job, there’s always a good excuse. The hours are too long, the pay is too little, the work is too hard, people are too demanding – take your pick. And don’t worry, if you don’t like any of those excuses the sluggard has plenty more. Have you heard the one about the lion? Solomon writes, ‘The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”’ (Proverbs 22:13 NKJV).
Thomas Edison, the epitome of a worker and the antithesis of a sluggard, said, ‘Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.’ A sluggard is never without an excuse. It’s always too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry to work. ‘The lazy man will not plough because of winter.’ If sluggards harmed only themselves it would be one thing, but they hurt everybody else too. ‘He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer’ (Proverbs 18:9 NKJV).
Chuck Swindoll says: ‘That word “destroys” pulsates with liabilities. A lazy employee doesn’t simply hold an organisation back; he destroys its motivation and drive. A lazy player doesn’t just weaken the team; he destroys its spirit and diminishes its will to win. A lazy pastor doesn’t merely limit a church, he destroys its enthusiasm, its passion to win souls and meet needs. Before long, everyone must do more to compensate for the sluggard’s negative influence.’ So again, the word for you today is: don’t be a sluggard!
1 Samuel 13-14, John 11:1-29
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