What is laziness? Most dictionaries would define it as an unwillingness to work or exert energy. It is synonymous with idleness, sluggishness, and indolence. However, we shouldn’t limit laziness just to inactivity. Laziness also includes…
- CUTTING CORNERS like Saul, who in 1 Samuel 13 chose to bypass the presence of a priest to offer sacrifices to the Lord before engaging in battle and performed the sacrifices himself (13:8-9). As a result of his lazy decision, he lost the throne for future generations of his family (13:13-14).
- MINIMALISTIC MINDSETS like Cain, who in Genesis 4 chose to bring a nondescript, ordinary, bland “offering of the fruit of the ground” (4:3) to the Lord, unlike his brother who went above and beyond by bringing “the firstborn of his flock and of their fat” (4:4). As a result of his lazy effort, “[the Lord] had no regard” (4:5) for Cain’s offering and events unfolded that led to Cain’s departure “from the presence of the Lord” (4:16).
- REPUTATION RELIANCE like the church in Sardis who Jesus said “[had] the reputation of being alive, but [were actually] dead” (Revelation 3:1). In other words, they assumed their previous work history would make up for their lack of present contributions. As a result of their laziness, Jesus had nothing good to say about this church and instructed them to “repent” (Revelation 3:3).
But is laziness really a biblical issue? Do you remember the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)? Jesus began this parable by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.” This introduction indicates that this story addresses spiritual matters since it is utilized as an example of “the kingdom of heaven.”
As the story goes, the master gave one servant five coins, another servant two coins, and a third servant one coin before he departed with the unspoken expectation that they would utilize the resources they received to advance the master’s estate. Two of the servants, the one with five coins and the one with two coins, took the resources they received and used them in an unspecified way that they acquired more resources. In fact, they each doubled their master’s financial interests through their efforts, and when the master returned to examine their work, he told these two individuals, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21, 23).
The situation was different for the servant who received one coin. Instead of using his coin, he hid it, and, as a result, he did not increase his master’s estate. Notice the reason he gave for burying the coin in Matthew 25:24-25, “I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” In other words, this servant deliberately chose to lazily handle the master’s resources because he was afraid of the rejection that might come if he proved unsuccessful. When the master learned that this servant failed to be industrious, he called him “wicked,” “lazy,” and “worthless” and deemed him unfit to receive a reward, choosing to punish him instead (Matthew 25:26-30).
A lesson to be gleaned from Jesus’ parable is that laziness is unacceptable in the kingdom of heaven. We need to remember that Jesus’ brother, James, declared that sin not only occurs any time you do what you are told not to do but also any time you fail to do what you are told to do (James 4:17). Therefore, failure to actively do the will of God, which is tantamount to spiritual laziness, is deemed a sin in the Bible, and if the Parable of the Talents is any indicator, such laziness can lead to eternal punishment. We must remember that we were “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). That means God expects us to be active, productive, and industrious in His kingdom.
- What are some ways in which you or your family are spiritually lazy?
- In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Paul instructs Christians to “keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness.” Why do you think laziness was such an important issue to Paul that he instructed Christians to distance themselves from those who are “not willing to work”?
- What are some practical steps you and/or your family can take to counter spiritual laziness?