A Lazy Fool

Read: Proverbs 6:6-11

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.                                                                                                                                          Proverbs 10:4-5

     There are some sounds that could cause even the deafest man alive to cringe. Unless you are waking up to go on an amazing vacation or there is a little something out of place “upstairs,” then there is no one who likes to hear the sound of an alarm clock going off. Most of the time, doesn’t it seem like your head has barely hit the pillow before the incessant buzzing sound starts blaring through the stillness? If there is a sound more annoying than the one an alarm clock makes, then I surely haven’t heard it yet.

     As annoying as an alarm clock is, and as easy as it is to hit the snooze button and roll back under the covers, it is time to start showing some self-discipline and get out of bed. Laziness is one of the great hindrances to productivity. There have been many great minds and talented people that realized only a fraction of their potential because they were lazy. On the other hand, those who accomplished some of history’s greatest feats did so because they got up and “got after it.”

     Many teenagers fit into the category of laziness. Sure, a teenager needs to get plenty of sleep because he is growing. I get all of that, but many take it to the extreme. Sleeping in until ten or eleven o’clock on days when there is no school, lounging around on the couch all day, wasting away the day playing video games – these are all traits of a lazy teenager. There is so much to accomplish and so much that you could do to be productive secularly and spiritually that there is no room for laziness. There is a place for downtime and relaxation, but laziness is in its own category. The Bible condemns laziness and even says that a person who doesn’t work shouldn’t eat.

     Do you want to make something of yourself some day? Do you want God to use you some day? He is not looking for the young man who is lounging around waiting for jobs and opportunities to fall into his lap. God is looking for the young men who are diligent and industrious because He can trust them to accomplish what He needs to have done. Get up, get going, and make your life count for something.

Quote of the day: “You cannot leave footprints in the sands of time while sitting down.”