By Ken Blue
I am confident these Scriptures about the lazy man were not written to him. They were written to inform others about him. The reason is, very little can be done to help the lazy man because he does not want to change.
IMPERTINENT Proverbs 26:16 “The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.”
First of all, you cannot give him a reason why he should change. He is too wise in his own conceit to listen to anyone. He will always have a ready answer to justify inaction. He is a fool, but too stupid to understand it. To him, everyone who challenges him is unreasonable, and below his level of wisdom.
IGNORANT Proverbs 6:6 “ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”
Not only is the lazy man or woman wise in their own eyes, they are unable to learn from the clear lessons of nature. Even the smallest of God’s creation could teach him if he was teachable. The ants work as a team, and they prepare for the future. The lazy person cares not for the future. They only live for the excitement, entertain, amusement, and comfort of the moment. Only God can break through the wall of ignorance possessed by the lazy person.
INDIFFERENT Proverbs 6:9 “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?”
The lazy person is unconcerned about anything except his on fleshly comfort and desires. As far as he is concerned, the harvest can waste in the field, and the fruit can rot on the vine. He will lie in bed until noon or later during harvest time. He complains about being tired, when all he has done is sleep and sit. He confuses laziness with fatigue.
IRRITATING Proverbs 10:26 “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.”
Most of us have experienced the discomfort of smoke in the eyes from a campfire. Vinegar sets the teeth on edge and hinders the taste and bite. Both are a discomfort. So is the lazy person. You expect normal service for him, and discover he not only will not work, but also is a source of irritation and discomfort.
IMPOVERISHED Proverbs 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”
The contrast here is between the diligent and the sluggard. The sluggard will have poverty, the diligent will have plenty. The truth is, what you sow, you also reap. The sluggard can’t figure out why life will not cooperate with him. He desires, but never can attain. He would like to have, but lives in a fool’s paradise. The difference between the have and the have nots, is the did and the did nots.
IRRATIONAL Proverbs 20:4 “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.”
The lazy person looks for reasons to delay or not do the needed task. Cold weather, clouds in the sky, and a perceive lion in the street are great excuses to not do it now. He is the great procrastinator. There is little hope for the lazy person. You cannot reason with them. You cannot shame them, and a rod to the back will not change them. Now you know.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.