THE SLUGGARD
Descriptions of ‘the sluggard’ feature prominently in the book of Proverbs. A habitually lazy person, the antithesis of a diligent disciple, the sluggard is not one that should be emulated. One such description is found in Proverbs 24:30-34.
I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
While the place of miracles is often repeated in contemporary biblical teaching, we don’t hear much about the need for diligence and hard work. Yet, the latter is repeatedly highlighted in the Old and New Testaments and the rule, ‘if you don’t work, you won’t eat’ is very much a biblical concept.
To begin with a sluggard begins with the lack of judgment. Wisdom can be traced back to the very nature of God. Having wisdom is really having the nature of God within. Even those who deny God and end up having productive lives are those who structure their lives around biblical principles albeit without their knowledge. When a person has scant regard for God or for godly principles, the output is similar to that of a sluggard described here.
He sets out to plant a vineyard. He has grandiose ambitions but falls short. Perhaps he did not seek the will of God. Perhaps it wasn’t time, or maybe God had other plans for him, and perhaps it was indeed His will. However, the sluggard does not follow through with the diligence required to maintain and nurture the vineyard. Weeds came up and laid his vineyard waste. Too often we see this working out as the discipline and diligence required to finish what has been started is lacking in face of distractions that lay waste one’s life.
A disciple might then pray for a miracle, and none comes through because to begin with, God’s wisdom would have been the diligence that was needed to complete the task, and the discipline to avoid distractions. Solomon observes this and learns a lesson and applies this to heart. Blessed are those who learn from theirs and others mistakes. It doesn’t require much sleep or slacking- it’s the small compromises each day that sets up a pattern of compromise eventually leading to poverty and scarcity, which comes on like a flood and most unexpectedly.
Hard work pays and knowing it’s very much a biblical principle should egg a disciple on to embrace it in his life.
