6 Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
8 Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:6-11)
Pasted from <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%206&version=NKJV>
If there is one thing I hate to see, it is a person who has more opportunity thrown at them than they have a right to expect and won't do anything with them or just throws them away. Ever know anyone like this? Solomon calls them sluggard. We may also rightfully call them "lazy" people. And after Solomon gives us the contrast to the ant who is continually working (the only ant I have ever seen standing still is a dead ant), Solomon gives us six characteristics of the sluggard who needs to have a stick of dynamite lit under him:
1) They sleep too much. Proverbs 26:14, "As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed." Just as a door won't move in any direction without hanging on to its hinges, so is that person that loves sleep too much. All day long all you hear them say is that they can't wait to get to bed or to lie down. They go around yawning all the time. (Although I see a lot of people who do the same from lack of sleep too) It's hard to get them to do anything that takes away from their sleep time. They aren't going very far from their place of rest.
2) They love to make excuses. Proverbs 22:13, "The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets." It has been said that if you don't want to do something that any excuse will do. No one can find more excuses to not do something than the person who is too lazy to do anything.
3) They have a "know-it-all", un-teachable attitude. Proverbs 26:16, "The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason." They will tell you why they can't do something and find every reason in the world why they are right in their assumption. You can't argue with a lazy person and the only thing that will make them move is a lighted stick of dynamite under them. I know a lot of people who will starve do death before they will admit that they are lazy but they won't work for anything less than top salary.
4) They are procrastinators. They always put things off until the last minute and are always late for everything, if they show up at all. They never finish anything they start but find every excuse for not continuing with any project. They tire very easily and just give up rather than to attempt to improve. They blame everyone and everything else for their own failure to accomplish anything rather than to admit that they are lazy. They are terrible planners, in fact, they don't plan for anything. They just live from second to second, reacting to whatever comes instead of attempting to change things before they happen.
5) They are irritating to everyone around them, especially those who are busy. Busy people with a vision and a dream to chase don't have much patience or compassion for those who are not. Proverbs 10:26, "As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him." Don't expect a sluggard to get the job done. If you do, you will always be disappointed. Their inactivity and bad attitude will put a bitter taste in your mouth and make your eyes water with aggravation and you will, most likely, have to do the job yourself anyway.
- What is the final condition of a sluggard who is unwilling to change?
Proverbs 19:15, "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger."
(Thanks to James May, Sermon Central)
Perhaps I have not been as charitable in my tone as I ought to be today, but one thing I will say as a word of caution to parents- especially very hard-working, ant-type parents. It utterly amazes me the parents I have seen who enable mediocrity and laziness in their children. They are the ones who give their school teachers fits by not making their children be responsible and accountable for their behavior and for doing their work. These same parents work themselves to death all day long and won't make their children do chores around the house. They give their teenagers money rather than making them go out and get a part-time job. They buy them cars and give them money for gas. They also take care of the repair bills when they mess around and wreck their vehicles. These same parents can't understand why their children are directionless and lazy. Some of the sweetest hard-working people I have known are in their eighties and have children who still live with them or are raising their grandchildren. It defies all imagination.
We are given only one shot at instilling a godly work ethic into our children. May we all do our part, with God's help, to raise ants instead of a "couch potatoes".
Prayer: Dear God, sometimes its all the energy I can muster just to get everything done that I need to do to survive. But our children need to learn how to work because society is not doing a good job of teaching them this. Help me, by my example, to demonstrate a godly work ethic to them that will glorify You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Have a blessed day!
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