I have been on a journey through Scripture that has had me in the book of Proverbs for the past week or so…and one of the things I have discovered is how much laziness really ticks God off!
In reading the book of Proverbs through several times I have always seen God challenge me to pursue wisdom, keep away from adultery, spend my money wisely and raise godly children—BUT—in reading through it this last time the theme of laziness JUMPED off the pages at me.
The first thing I did was a gut check…one of my greatest fears in life is to become lazy…for example…
- I could become lazy in my walk with God neglect seeking Him on a daily basis—thus resulting in numerous stupid decisions because of me trying to do life alone.
- I could become lazy in my marriage and not continue to pursue my wife like I did when we dated…and NOT love her as Christ loves the church—thus resulting in a fried marriage that IS NOT a reflection of how God loves us.
- I could become lazy in raising my daughter and not spend time with her…instead of embracing her as the primary discipleship opportunity in my life I could ignore her and be more interested in television or some other hobby—thus resulting in her becoming like most pastors kids that you might know!!!
- I could become lazy in my finances and NOT put God first…AND also begin to borrow money with very high interest rates and max out credit cards all because I cannot delay my desires—thus resulting in financial bondage and frustration. (Proverbs 22:7 is true—I used to be there!)
- I could become lazy in my pursuit of excellence as a leader/speaker—thus resulting in me getting into a rut and never stretching myself. (Craig had an incredible post on this!)
Laziness, as the Bible describes it, is a sin.
One more thought…a church can become lazy as well…and personally, I REALLY think that ticks God off! Look at the “resources” He has given us…the Bible, the Holy Spirit, AN EMPTY TOMB, the greatest message in this history of the world. Folks—the church should be accomplishing WAY more than we are. AND personally…I think one of the reasons that church attendance in our country is declining is because of laziness.
Proverbs 24:30-34 reminded me of the condition of a lot of churches! Here we see potential that had been neglected and ignored…and the result was “poverty!” Poverty—is there a better word to describe many of the churches in our country?
After all…
It takes effort to actually REACH people for Christ…it is MUCH EASIER to condemn them all to hell because they are not “just like us!”
I know one of the greatest dangers for NewSpring Church is for us to one day take all that God has done for granted, thus causing us to slip into cruise control and become lazy. GOD HELP US! May we always go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to make the name of Your Son Jesus famous!!!
Laziness…God hates it…
Some scripture references
- Proverbs 6:6
- Proverbs 6:9
- Proverbs 10:26
- Proverbs 13:4
- Proverbs 15:19
- Proverbs 19:24
- Proverbs 20:4
- Proverbs 21:25
- Proverbs 22:13
- Proverbs 24:30
- Proverbs 26:13-16