Series in Proverbs - Wake Up Slacker!

 

Wake Up Slacker!

Prov. 6:6-11

The Hebrew word for sluggard is “Atsel”, it refers to someone habitually inactive and unwilling to work. The world has seen its share of the slothful procrastinators, who avoid work and will make excuses to postpone doing the work needed to be done. Solomon uses one of the humblest and tiniest of God’s creatures to show the need for diligence and responsibility, as well as the motivation and preparedness for the future. So let's read the first portion of the text. “Go to the ant, you sluggard;  consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

Solomon again exhorts the children, possibly watching an anthill as the worker ants carry out the tasks of gathering food for the colony. There is a small hierarchy to the ant colony: the queen who generates eggs and the males are born for one purpose, to generate sperm and die after mating with the queen. So the majority of the ants are working females, and a few are genetically born to be warriors to protect the colony. Though Solomon doesn’t go into the biological or hierarchical description of the ant colony, he does want his children to know the organization and diligence of the ants.

There are no slackers in an ant colony, each one knows intuitively the nature of their life’s work. And they give their lives in service to the colony, whether they are cutting, transporting, exploring for new food sources, managing the storing and distribution of the stored harvest, or being responsible for the propagation of the species. Each ant works as a unit for the wellbeing of the colony. This is Solomon’s object lesson to his children or anyone who is reading the proverbs. The ant is gifted by God for the labor of the colony, and it doesn’t need a hierarchy of leaders to give orders and directives. The ant is gifted with wisdom and abilities to be productive and resourceful in fulfilling its task with diligence. 

Application - Oh how we need to step back and look at God’s creation and their innate abilities. God had created the ant with all the other creatures that crawl upon the ground, and He created mankind to be the stewards of His creation. Yet one of His creations has forgotten their divine purpose. I am no myrmecologist, a person who studies ants, but I can ascertain that people can surely learn from the ant as Solomon pointed out. Mankind can learn diligence and responsibility from this one of God’s littlest creations. Diligence, the act of persistent and carefully performed work or effort. And the responsibilities of a steward are not to be neglected because of laziness and slothful work efforts.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, that there were people in the church who refused to work or to be more politically correct, they were energetically challenged. “When we were with you, we told you that if a man does not work, he should not eat.” (2 Thes. 3:10 NLV)

Solomon as well as Paul, and probably many others saw the lethargy and complacency of mankind. As we will read in other proverbs, slackers were found in every generation of people. And God is not affirming to the lethargic and in fact Jesus told the parable of those who were entrusted with talents and their diligence and responsibility as stewards. The last one was called out for his laziness and lack of trust and faithlessness. (Matt. 25:14-30).

In my years as a teacher in high school and middle school classes, I was known by the students as “a nice guy, but you sure didn’t like stupid.” or lazy for that matter. 

So what is the application for this section of the lesson, look at God’s word and do as He has told us to do. “You who are servants who are owned by someone, obey your owners. Work hard for them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Work for them as you would for the Lord because you honor God. Whatever work you do, do it with all your heart. Do it for the Lord and not for men. Remember that you will get your reward from the Lord. He will give you what you should receive. You are working for the Lord Christ. If anyone does wrong, he will suffer for it. God does not respect one person more than another.” (Col. 3:22-25 NLV) For we work for Him and He expects us to be good and faithful stewards. ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ (Matt. 25:21 NLV)

Next, Solomon chastises the sluggard, the lazy person who will find any excuse and remain unmotivated. So let’s read the final portion of the text. “How long will you lie there, you sluggard?  When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”

There seems to be an abundance of sluggards for Solomon to point out in his kingdom. For there were many opportunities for work: in the agricultural, the military, governmental, the construction industry, as well as the various food, mercantile, hardware, textile products made and sold in the markets, and the export/import industry also. 

For whatever reason, there were slothful procrastinating people who didn’t contribute to the economy of the kingdom. They found ways to put off working, and especially to maintain a healthy and vibrance community and life. They remained in bed, feigning any excuse to keep from working to provide for themselves or others. They gave themselves to poverty by their lifestyle. If they did labor in the fields or the market, they took extended rests and naps, and then complained that they were poor or in need. The irresponsibility of the slacker would become a burden upon the family, town, and community. Their habitual inactivity enhanced their poor health, and they overburdened the community with their hunger. Hunger and scarcity are close cousins, they both draw from the lack of necessities that impact the people, and this is the point of Solomon’s lesson. The people of the kingdom needed to work and contribute in order for the whole to be healthy and vibrant in their lives.

Application - A mentoring pastor friend told me, “God doesn’t have a money problem, He has a labor problem!” As in the first portion of the lesson, God will not affirm the apathetic, complacent, and slothful attitude and lifestyle of people who refuse to be good stewards, He desires that we be faithful and dependable even in the smallest tasks. In His judgment, the scripture says that He records all our acts. “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.” “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books… and each person was judged according to what they had done.” (Mal.3:16; Rev. 20:12,13b NIV)

So if you are given to extended rests, the innate ability to procrastinate when it comes to work, not only will poverty be your allotment in life, but it will be like the thief who will take whatever you have in this life, and you will face God’s accounting records for your life’s efforts, these will reveal your rewards from Him. 

In closing, Paul speaking to the church in general and in Rome particularly stated “You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord.” (Rom. 13:11 CEV) So if you have been given to laziness, living improper spiritually,  wake up to God’s divine facts written in His Word and the lateness of the hour, for His coming back for the church is much closer now that it was when this word was penned. Do you want to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant”, or go away “You wicked, lazy servant!” (Matt. 25:21,26) Be like the last hired in the parable of the vineyard, though they work only a few hours they received the proper amount for a job well done. (Matt. 20:1-16)

As always, I want to end with presenting the gospel in the form of the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. 

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com