Don’t Be Lazy

I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-34

Proverbs often speaks about the slothful. It is quite easy to see the application to our lives here. Notice how he considered and was instructed by what he saw; the field and vineyard of the slothful (lazy person) overrun by thorns and nettles.

The field and the vineyard speak about our spiritual life, and the thorns and nettles speak to us about the cares of this world (Matthew 13:22). A field and a vineyard need constant care to avoid the weeds and thorns taking over. This is where the laziness comes in.

Many of God’s people are spiritually slothful (lazy). They do not want to tend to their vineyard. The Holy Spirit is the one who works in the vineyard, doing the pruning and weeding, but He uses the Word to accomplish this work. We cannot expect that the thorns (cares of this world) will be kept out of our lives if we do not take in God’s Word on a daily basis.

Notice the “man void of understanding;” one who has chosen to not lay hold of God’s Word. It is not possible to emphasize too much the importance of God’s Word in the life of the Christian.

The wall around the field speaks of the “wall” that guards our heart against the attacks of the enemy. We are often encouraged to guard (keep) our heart. Proverbs 4:5,6,23. We are told that if we put our complete trust in our Lord, His peace will “keep” our hearts and minds. Phil 4:7.

Spiritual laziness will bring about spiritual poverty. We have available to us the riches of Christ, but if we do not lay hold of them, we will end up spiritually poor. Not only is this a waste, it is dishonoring to our Lord who was made poor so that we might be made rich.

Our enemy wants us to be spiritually lazy, and encourages us to “fold the hands to sleep,” bring on a little slumber. So many of God’s  people are sleeping today. Paul warns against spiritual sleepiness. 1 Thes. 5:6-8. We are in a time where we need to be very vigilant.

Let us be spiritually awake and active, taking in God’s Word to keep our vineyard clean and clear of the cares of this world.

Gordon Crook