Sluggardly or Diligent: You choose

Proverbs 13:4

“A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,
but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”

This verse speaks of two kinds of people, the sluggard and the diligent. The sluggardly one according to Webster is a habitually lazy person. Honestly I was kind of shocked to find out that there’s such a thing as being “habitually lazy”. Until now I had just placed all laziness into the same category and all lazy people into the same boat. But as I considered the Scriptures and this definition, I came to term with the fact that just like there are different categories of work or sin there could also be different categories of laziness. 

Also like sin, there’s “occasional” laziness and then there’s “habitual” laziness. I believe the difference is found in the attitude and the heart.

Occasional laziness may present itself in the form of deciding not to cut the grass that particular day or putting off cleaning the living room until tomorrow. We all have times when we’re occasionally lazy. It’s human nature or should I say sinful nature. With laziness the problem occurs when the occasional turns into the habitual.

Habitual laziness presents itself as never cutting your grass until forced by the Code Enforcement Agency or never cleaning your house until you’re threaten with having your children taken away due to the unsanitary environment. This kind of laziness is costly and can be deadly. It leaves you with a feeling of emptiness on the inside. It’s not what God desires for our life. His desire is for us to be fully satisfied. He desires for us to be diligent and not lazy.

The sluggard also desires the gains of the diligent. I have found this to be true in my own personal life. When I’m functioning in a sluggardly state I always find myself envying or lusting after what the diligent has honestly gained. No matter what I do, I’m left with a feeling of wanting more. I’m never full. Am I the only one or can anyone else relate to what I'm saying?

As we move forward let's make a commitment to be more diligent. Let's get full and crave no more. Let's not envy or desire what we haven't put forth the effort to obtain. Let's get busy and only occasionally find ourselves to be lazy. God bless.

Adraine Scott
Adraine is the president of Edvance Services LLC. His entire professional career has been spent helping others find their unique ways of learning and being. He has been able to accomplish this by serving as a youth minister, speaker, counselor, college and career minister, secondary education teacher, and business owner