13 A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven people who answer discreetly.
Wouldn't you know it? This passage of verses would just pop right up, after I didn't get up on time this morning . . . in fact, I hit the snooze on my alarm more than once! But I don't think that is what Solomon is talking about here.
In previous proverbs, we've seen that the slothful man, or the sluggard (very similar) is too lazy to roast the food that he hunted and brought back. We've seen that he won't plow because he says it's too cold outside. He (or she, don't forget!) will make excuses for laziness and passivity, instead of being diligent and working hard.
Did you know that there are spiritual sluggards, too? Someone who is not only too lazy to do anything for himself; but in verse 16, we're told that this sluggard also considers himself to be the only person who really knows anything!
The spiritual sluggard is one who will not dive deeply into God's word and feed himself. The sluggard depends on the pastor to give him all of the wisdom that he needs from the scriptures. The slothful Christian thinks it is too time-consuming to look at the study notes, flip over to the cross-reference verses and study. The sluggard much prefers to be spoon-fed theology, and comforts himself with the thought that "they've been to seminary, and know so much more than I do." Instead of searching for herself in her Bible, the spiritual sluggard will complacently accept what she hears. If we are slothful, we may feel that there is no real power in the Bible, but it's because we are not working at our study!
Let's try not to be sluggards. Instead of leaving the church and not thinking about the sermon topic any further, let's look for verses that apply to the topic, and study them. Let's make sure that we believe something because we have studied it and found it to be true -- not just because someone told us so. Let's ask our children what they thought of the sermon, or what they learned in their Sunday School or study group -- and study along with them. Let's meditate on verses from the Bible, and let's repeat them to ourselves when we feel stressed. Let's call our brothers and sisters by name in our prayers.
All of these may seem like work. They may seem difficult at first. But if we incorporate these concepts into our lives, we will experience the power that our Father has promised us.
And we won't be sluggards.
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven people who answer discreetly.
Wouldn't you know it? This passage of verses would just pop right up, after I didn't get up on time this morning . . . in fact, I hit the snooze on my alarm more than once! But I don't think that is what Solomon is talking about here.
In previous proverbs, we've seen that the slothful man, or the sluggard (very similar) is too lazy to roast the food that he hunted and brought back. We've seen that he won't plow because he says it's too cold outside. He (or she, don't forget!) will make excuses for laziness and passivity, instead of being diligent and working hard.
Did you know that there are spiritual sluggards, too? Someone who is not only too lazy to do anything for himself; but in verse 16, we're told that this sluggard also considers himself to be the only person who really knows anything!
The spiritual sluggard is one who will not dive deeply into God's word and feed himself. The sluggard depends on the pastor to give him all of the wisdom that he needs from the scriptures. The slothful Christian thinks it is too time-consuming to look at the study notes, flip over to the cross-reference verses and study. The sluggard much prefers to be spoon-fed theology, and comforts himself with the thought that "they've been to seminary, and know so much more than I do." Instead of searching for herself in her Bible, the spiritual sluggard will complacently accept what she hears. If we are slothful, we may feel that there is no real power in the Bible, but it's because we are not working at our study!
Let's try not to be sluggards. Instead of leaving the church and not thinking about the sermon topic any further, let's look for verses that apply to the topic, and study them. Let's make sure that we believe something because we have studied it and found it to be true -- not just because someone told us so. Let's ask our children what they thought of the sermon, or what they learned in their Sunday School or study group -- and study along with them. Let's meditate on verses from the Bible, and let's repeat them to ourselves when we feel stressed. Let's call our brothers and sisters by name in our prayers.
All of these may seem like work. They may seem difficult at first. But if we incorporate these concepts into our lives, we will experience the power that our Father has promised us.
And we won't be sluggards.
tough message for today. I certainly don't want to be classified as a sluggard.
ReplyDeleteNeither do I!! But I fear that at times, I might be. This is a tough one Snoodles!!
ReplyDeleteWow I kept reading about the Sluggard so maybe in some sense without realizing it we can become sluggard, I will start to go in deeper in the bible, does some people have suggestion when getting deeper in the bible?
ReplyDeleteI have always viewed this 'sluggard' in the physical perspective alone without relating it to my spiritual life. I thank God for opening my eyes.
ReplyDelete