#3: Diligence is sloth's opposite, and it brings good.

Diligence makes good
We've looked in depth at sloth's consequences (yucky things like hunger and poverty and forced labor).  We'll be quicker about the consequences for the diligent:

• make rich, get precious wealth, be richly supplied (10:4, 12:27, 13:4).
• have plenty of bread (12:11, 20:13, 28:19).
• rule (12:24).
• will lead to abundance (21:5).

These are wonderful things that anyone would want.  But what is diligence?  Uh oh...I feel a dictionary definition coming on...

from dictionary.com

I take comfort in the fact that "perfect" appears nowhere in that definition.  Neither are the phrases "have it all" or "Super Mom"...but we'll get to those next week.

Diligence is putting my full effort into what God has set before me.  Daily, hourly, constantly.  Not every day will be marked with accomplishments and check marks next to my to-do list, but every day can be marked by effort.

New Testament diligence

Even though this study has been on Proverbs, I wondered what Jesus and the New Testament writers had to say about the topic, and found a few notes in 2 Peter (emphasis mine):

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 2 Peter 1:10

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 2 Peter 3:14

So in our call to be diligent, we also find what we are supposed to be diligent about: pursuing God and knowing Him better, plus fighting our inherent sin nature.

Fighting sin nature and learning God's ways (through prayer, Bible study, etc.) are not the things I am naturally inclined to do.  But diligence has its rewards, just as sloth has its consequences.

Hopefully this week I will remember those things as I go about my days.  And hopefully you can, too, Lord willing!

#2: Sloth does not equal boundless leisure.

Forced Labor
Previously, I mentioned what the sluggard in me desires: constant (and passive) entertainment via television, a never-ending supply of junk food, a caffeine IV drip, and lots of pretty blogs to read.

But guess what?

"The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor" (Proverbs 21:25).

And it's so true.  On the days that I give in to my gimmes...I suffer.  I die a thousand painful deaths because the baby is interrupting MY show or cleaning requires MY time or there are no more of MY favorite snacks in the house.  And this leads to the point of another proverb...

"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor" (Proverbs 12:24, emphasis mine).

How long can any of us go without being called upon to do something, anything?  If I play the sluggard all day, then realize my husband will be home in 15 minutes expecting dinner and a mostly clean house (which is reasonable given I'm home and Pookie's a pretty good help for a toddler)...I pay for my sloth by rushing about like crazy, throwing things where they belong and crashing around the kitchen to make it look like dinner's half-finished.

I pay for my sloth with forced labor.  And I'll bet I'm not the only one.

Gettin' Nothin'
And then there's something else, something similar to being forced into work...but worse:

"The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied" (Proverbs 13:4, emphasis mine).

Are you on Pinterest?  I am, and I adore it.  I could spend hours lost in the maze of crafts and recipes and inspiring to-dos, pinning them like crazy and telling myself "I'm going to make that."

But if my bottom never leaves the computer chair, I won't make any of it, and so I will crave and want and wish and desire and covet...for nothing.

"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth" (Proverbs 19:24).

What do you see when you read that?  I think of a cartoonish slug-like creature, so big that rolls of fat slip off either side of his chair.  His mouth is ringed with chocolate; he stares off into the distance somewhere, his mind far away from his hand in a bowl of M&Ms slowly melting onto his fingers.

It's not a pretty sight.  But that's me sometimes: glued to my computer screen or box of candy or whatever it is that I crave, crave, crave--surrounded by luxury but so saturated it no longer registers.

Wow.  This is super depressing, huh?

Without being quite so vivid, I think the moral of the story is leisure has its bounds.  And whether or not we see those bounds coming, we will hit them, and the pleasures we hoarded will be treasures no more.

Don't worry.  Next week I'll be more upbeat as we turn our attention to diligence.  Until then...well, stay away from the candy dish! ;)

#1: Sloth Is Bad.

“Sluggard” isn’t a word we use very often these days.  You don’t see it in magazines or hear it on the news, but the idea is still relevant: a sluggard is a lazy person, an habitually lazy person.

Sure, we all have lazy days where not much gets done beyond pajama-wearing and channel surfing.  But for most of us, days that look like this are few and far between.

But what about our hearts?  Our minds?  When I really think about it, I know that when I show up to my weekly Bible study, my brain hasn’t lost its fuzzy slippers yet.  When something really needs to be done, my hands might be busy, but my heart’s hitting the snooze button.

I lead a productive life, but I have a sluggard’s lazy heart.

Maybe that’s not your problem.  Maybe I’m the only one out there who looks like I’ve got it together when sloth is really eating away at my insides.  If I am, then this is a one-woman rant and you can head for the exits.  But if you think you might suffer from a sluggard’s heart, too, please read on.

The consequences, Proverbs-style
There is a string of verses in Proverbs that pits the diligent against the sluggard, showing outcomes for each.  Today, we’ll take a peek at the negatives…


A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 10:4


He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. 10:5


Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. 12:11


The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. 12:24


Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth. 12:27


The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. 13:4


Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. 20:13


The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. 21:5


Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. 28:19

I will admit, that I wish that my days were filled with pajamas and Netflix and junk food.  Truly, I do!  If I could do just those things (and read some blogs) as a full-time job, I tell myself I would be happy.

But, like all things, those things have consequences seen above, and I'm just not into shame or forced labor...or a whole lot of poverty.

So, that's the easy part: deciding that the sluggard's life is not for me.  Pretty common sense.

Next week we'll dig into more specifics about how too much leisure does no good.

{Full disclosure? I'm off to have some strawberry Danish and watch Netflix.  But I've finished my writing for the day, laundry is started, and the Pookster is down for a nap...so I would call this downtime in moderation. :D}

Let the Sloth Series Begin!

It looks like March will be all about sloth...and not the furry kind shown above.  I figured that picture was more attractive than what the sluggard or slothfulness looks like in my life...

And I know what you're saying..."Aww, what a cute puppy picture!  Why didn't you use that?  It's way cuter than that sloth."  Well, because that's no puppy in the photo, folks...that's my ugly mug.

Or I might not have wanted you to have a warm, fuzzy reaction to the idea of laziness.  It was one of those two.

Anyway, for this week, I just want to lay out what will be coming your way, the main truths I found as I studied Proverbs, underlining any verse that mentioned sloth or the sluggard (and a few others without those direct words that really jumped out at me as related).  Here are the categories that the verses seemed to fall in, and the truth they seemed to tell:

1. Sloth is bad...lazy only sounds like fun.
2. Lack of diligence does not equal boundless leisure.
3. Diligence is the opposite of sloth, and it brings the good.
4. But diligence isn't doing it all, all the time.

Next week we'll tackle the consequences of sloth and prolonged laziness as laid out in Proverbs.  For today, I want to share the verses from my study...Enjoy!

• Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.  Without having any chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.  How long will you lie there, O sluggard?  When will you arise from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty comes upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man (6:6-11).
• A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.  He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame (10:4-5).
• Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him (10:26).
• Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense (12:11).
• The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor (12:24).
• Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth (12:27).
• The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied (13:4).
• The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway (15:19).
• Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger (19:15).
• The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth (19:24).
• The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing (20:4).
• Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread (20:13).
• The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty (21:5).
• The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor (21:25).
• The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!  I shall be killed in the streets!" (22:13).
• I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.  Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man (24:30-34).
• A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls (25:28).
• The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road!  There is a lion in the streets!"  As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.  The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it ears him out to bring it back to his mouth.  The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly (26:13-16).
• Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty (28:19).
• She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness (31: 27).