Work

We were created for work.  Hard work.  Even physical labor.

Work existed in the Garden of Eden before the fall.  Adam was instructed to “tend the garden and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).  Work has always been a part of God’s plan.  After the fall, men were commanded to work by the sweat of their brow.  In the Ten Commandments the people of Israel were commanded to work a full six days a week and to rest on the seventh.

Laziness is never tolerated in Scripture.  While there are dozens of verses that deal with the subject, here are three Biblical facts about laziness:

1.  God promises that poverty and hardship will come upon a lazy man like an armed thief; …..poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man (Proverbs 6:6-11).  In His sovereignty God has preordained that a lazy man is not going to be treated with tenderness; but roughly.  Poverty will come upon him like an armed  thief to steal what little he has.  Doors of oppurtunity will slam shut.  People who persist in laziness are asking God to work them over.  They've got a rough life ahead of them.

2.  Poor work habits are public knowledge for everyone to talk about.  “As vinegar is to the teeth, and as smoke is to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him” (Proverbs 10:26).  When employers are irritated to this extent, they do not keep their opinions to themselves – nor should they.  When someone fills out a negative job evaluation, or tells another prospective employer that Joe “is not a good worker”, he is not gossiping.  Work is a public activity and is evaluated publicly.  Those steeped in poor work habits will be judged publicly and roughly, and should be.

3.  Laziness is an object lesson for others to learn from.  “I went by the field of a lazy man, and by the vineyard of a man who lacks judgment” (Proverbs 24:30).  The writer of Proverbs is telling us that the results of laziness are obvious for everyone to see, and will be pointed out.  This means that parents get to point at lazy people and warn their own children “don’t be like that because that’s how you’ll end up.”

Laziness is hard.  It’s harder than hard work.