Laziness! Ouch! Proverbs does not have anything good to say about the lazy! As I read about the lazy person this morning, a couple of traits stood out.
The lazy are known for their massive appetite for want, yet they get little! Their laziness is the enemy of the one thing that produces true prosperity and wealth—hard work! Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper. (Proverbs 13:4, NLT) Speaking of hard work, notice hard work vs. the get-rich-quick schemes the lazy love. Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. (Proverbs 13:11, NLT) The lazy want it all now. They will not stand for the little-by-little of hard work over time!
Another trait of the lazy is they are full of dreamy talk! In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23, ESV) How the lazy love to talk about their plans! But for all the talk, there is no ox in their barn! Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. (Proverbs 14:4, NKJV) Meaning that there is nothing about the lazy that says “work!” You will never find them to have a sore muscle or calloused hand, as it were. The ox is a beast of burden. You will not find the lazy owning anything that says “burden!” But, they are very good at “play station.” They are also very good at demanding that those with oxen provide for them.
So, how does it go for the lazy? It doesn’t! A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers… (Proverbs 15:19, NLT) Briers are removable, but the lazy won’t put on gloves and pull them out of their way. Their laziness, not inequality of opportunity, has sentenced them to continued poverty.
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Proverbs 13-15.