Proverbs | Laziness Vs Diligence (May 2nd, 2021) - Mike Armstrong

It'd be so good to grab your Bible and turn it to Proverbs 13.

Okay, Proverbs 13.

Now, uh I've mentioned this before, but I grew up uh through my teenage years in uh the beautiful province of Saskatchewan, and uh I grew up playing hockey out there, and uh I remember one of my teammates was this guy named Johnny Hildebrand.

Okay, and and if my dad's watching this right now, he'll start to smile.

My dad was our coach, and uh Johnny uh was this pretty funny guy.

He had this uh t-shirt that he used to wear under his equipment.

This is the days before Under Armour where you could you know wick sweat away from your body, so it's like this gross cotton t-shirt.

But on it it had this the phrase uh you you don't work, you don't eat.

And then underneath that it just said moose jaw.

As though, I'm kind of random, right?

I as though this was the phrase that Moose Jaw had adopted.

It was totally one of those shirts you would have bought at a truck stop or something.

Again, I don't know why anyone would buy that.

Uh, but it was this, it was this shirt that he wore all the time.

And and just picture as he grew older.

So I played with him for probably four or five seasons, but picture him like as in grade 11 just pulling this thing on tight.

It was red, but it had faded to more of a pink.

And and and it became this tradition in our dressing room where as he would put it on, a hush would fall across our team, and he would just say out loud, he would say, You don't work, you don't eat.

And then he would pause for effect and he would just be like, Moose jaw.

And everyone would cheer, and and we all thought it was hilarious.

We would laugh, and it kind of became like this battle cry for our team a little bit.

Okay, and and we were like, Yeah, like we were, you know, we're not gonna cheat you for effort, and and and we're gonna be a hard-working team, and we're gonna battle in the corners, and we're gonna be known as this.

And so again, this is the thing that we did, you know, every single, it was kind of like our pre-game ritual.

Now, it wasn't until like years later for me that I realized that that phrase is actually like straight out of the Bible.

Okay, it comes from um 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 10.

2 Thessalonians 3:10

Okay, it doesn't have the moose jaw part in there, okay, but it says this.

It says, if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Okay, now all through the scriptures we see that God places a high, high value on working hard, on being diligent and not being the opposite of that, being lazy, or or being a sluggard, which is which is such a great word.

We're gonna see that in our verse here in just a second, or or or slothful, it's another great scriptural word here.

And and and and the and the book of Proverbs speaks to these issues, this issue, uh, more than really anywhere else in the Bible.

And and it shows us that this issue of laziness and diligence, it's it's really a it's a it's a wisdom issue.

All right, so so here's our big idea today, if you want to jot this down.

It's this.

Very simple.

Wisdom tells me to resist laziness and pursue diligence.

All right, right to the point.

Now, here's what our verse says.

This is again Proverbs 13, verse 4.

Proverbs 13:4

So follow along with me.

It says this the soul of the sluggard, there's that great word again, okay?

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

Now, I'll be straight up with you, church.

I'll confess to you today that this topic today kind of stings me a little bit because, you know, for my whole life, at least as long as I can remember, I have struggled with some degree with laziness.

And for me, it's a particularly kind of shameful thing to consider that, but but it's true.

I I have, and I've had to learn the joys and the benefits of just working hard and and being productive and and not slacking and all of that.

But but again, it's it's an ongoing battle for me as as I have struggled and even continue to struggle with laziness.

Now, the the reason for that is that one of my main source idols, you know, we've talked about source idols before lots of times, but one of my sour uh source idols is is comfort.

Okay, comfort is a thing for me.

So meaning that deep down in my soul, there is this there's this longing for uh freedom from difficulty.

I I don't want that in my life.

Okay, I I I I I desire ease, right?

The path of least resistance is is something that I want deep down.

I desire pleasure, okay, and and and those of us who wrestle with this idol, okay, and I know I'm not the only one here, but those of us who wrestle with this can be very willing at times, okay, to neglect diligence, right?

To to neglect the hard work that is necessary and and and even to try, sometimes at all costs, to avoid and and navigate around various difficulties in life in the pursuit of just whatever makes us feel more comfortable.

Okay, and this pops up in various ways in our lives.

It it can it can pop up in our in our careers, and in being uh uh a hardworking employee or not.

It can pop up into our relationships and and taking our foot off the gas and not putting in the effort.

It can absolutely impact, and it does impact our walk with Christ.

Okay, so again, comfort, okay, comfort is the the root idol of laziness or or of the sluggard.

Okay, and and our verse, I think, is it hints at that.

Okay, take a look at it again, that first part.

It says, the soul of the sluggard, notice, craves.

Okay, craves.

There's there's this longing, there is this hunger and this desire deep down in the soul of a lazy person for various creature comforts.

Okay, but notice how it says there that they actually, in the end, they get nothing.

They get nothing.

In the end, true satisfaction is not found because true satisfaction will never be found in creature comforts.

That was not God's plan.

That is not ultimately how we were wired to find satisfaction.

Okay, okay, true, real, lasting satisfaction when you break it right down, strip it all away, will only and ever be found in the richness that comes from a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Only He can really satisfy that you know, those misplaced cravings.

That's what an idol is.

It's a misplaced craving, that longing.

Okay, and that's what we have to remember.

That you know, that's the truth that those of us with the with the that comfort idol, we have to remind ourselves of constantly, maybe daily, moment by moment, or else we will continue to pursue comfort through laziness, and then ultimately just develop this deep dissatisfaction in our soul as a result.

Okay, so bottom line here: laziness doesn't actually get you what you really want.

Okay, Proverbs 21, verse 17 speaks to this.

Proverbs 21:17

It says, Whoever loves pleasure, okay, so think comfort, however you might define that, whatever your thing is, whoever, whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man.

You don't get what you want, you don't get the thing that you're going after.

He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

You love comfort, you love pleasure, you love the easy path.

It's not gonna end well.

It's a couple of verses later, same Proverbs 21 and verse 25, says, the desire, okay, so that desire for comfort and ease and relaxation and all of that, the the desire of the sluggard kills him.

For his hands refuse to labor.

Now, now maybe you've got some of that kind of sluggard mentality in you a little bit, and and you kind of know it, but maybe you're not really aware of it yet.

You're you're you're you're or or you're just not sure.

Do I have that or am I just tired from COVID?

Because at the end of the day, that's probably what some of us are dealing with as well these days.

But again, if you're not sure, here are here are four signs that you struggle with laziness.

Okay, and I got some of this from uh Derek Kidner, a theologian.

But here's the first one.

You will not begin things.

Okay, if you're lazy, you will not begin things.

That's too much work.

Okay, and we'll look at a number of the proverbs again that that speak to these things.

Here's what 6 verse 9 says.

It says, How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

Okay, the the lazy person will not begin things.

They'd rather sleep in, right?

Constantly, and ah, I don't want to face the day, and I don't want to begin that task, and I don't want to, I don't want to get after it.

I would rather just, I'd rather sleep, I'd rather be lazy.

That's one sign.

You will not begin things.

Here's a second thing you will not finish things.

You'll not finish things either.

12 verse 27 says this whoever is slothful will not roast his game.

Okay, meaning that that the slothful person, they may hunt, they might, they might beg a deer, okay, but they won't follow through by actually barbecuing the deer and getting to enjoy the meal.

That's too much work, too much effort.

He says, but the diligent man, the verse continues, will get precious wealth.

Here's what Proverbs 19, 24 says.

The sluggard, how pathetic is this?

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back up to his mouth.

It's not worth the work.

I'm too lazy to even bring the food up to my mouth.

I think this is why we feel shame when we realize we're we're lazy, because it is somewhat shameful.

Okay, so you will not begin things, you will not finish things.

How about this third one?

You will not face things.

This is too difficult.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm not even gonna start, not gonna finish, none of it, I won't touch it.

Okay, Proverbs 20, verse 4, it says this the sluggard does not plow in the autumn.

Proverbs 20:4

And the autumn is when you need to plow the field, and that's a big task.

But the sluggard's like, meh, not gonna do it.

It says he will seek at harvest when you're supposed to gain the reap from your toil.

It says he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

Okay, and this, while often offering up excuses, sometimes lame excuses to not put in the effort, not do the work.

Proverbs 22, 13 says, the sluggard says, There's a lion outside.

I shall be killed in the streets.

Right?

For the lazy person, there's always a reason why we should not do the thing that we're supposed to do.

And sometimes it's a it's it's a lame excuse.

It's a lion in the streets.

I'm gonna die.

Okay, you will not begin things, you will not finish things, you will not face things.

Here's the fourth sign that maybe you struggle with laziness.

You'll be deeply unsatisfied.

Okay, the lazy person thinks that they're gonna be fulfilled through their lazy pursuits, but there's just this gnawing dissatisfaction deep down in the soul where you're like, I'm not, I'm not getting it, it's not helping me, it's not making me feel better, and I'm I'm restless.

I'm always I find myself disappointed.

I want more and more and more, and none of it is fulfilling.

Our main verse, 13 verse 4 speaks to that.

Obviously, the soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing.

But how about this one?

19 verse 15, slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Right?

You're not satisfied.

You're always hungry, always wanting more.

Again, it's deep dissatisfaction.

Now, perhaps you know, you've been kind of listening along to this and and and maybe even kind of tuning it out a little bit because you kind of you're feeling like none of it really applies to me.

Maybe that's what you're thinking.

You don't struggle with laziness, that's not really your thing, not at all.

And no one ever would ever accuse you of of being a sluggard at all.

You're you know, you're you're a diligent worker, you work hard and maybe even too hard, and maybe actually that is more the struggle for you, and you're at the other end of the spectrum on all of that.

But as we kind of shift from talking about, you know, the lazy sluggard type person and move now to what it means to be diligent, yeah, I want you to really think about this here and really consider you know what drives you to be diligent?

What drives you to be uh a hard worker?

Is your motivation to bring glory to God, right?

Your creator, or is your motivation gratitude for all uh that Christ has done for you?

Or are there less righteous motives kind of at work uh in your soul, impulses below the surface that others wouldn't naturally see?

You know, for you, do you work hard?

Are you a diligent worker in your Bible reading or in your career or around the house or whatever it might be because you're insecure?

And maybe it just comes from the way you were you were brought up, and and maybe you're you're looking for validation from people and you crave attention, and and again, it's this deep insecurity.

And so I'm gonna work hard to make myself look awesome and to get the praise that I never got or or or want and can't get enough of.

Right?

Maybe for you it's like a chip on your shoulder, and and and you just want to win, and you want to beat other people, and you want to be successful, and you love the the pleasure that comes from all of that.

And maybe maybe at the end of the day, your motivation for being a diligent worker, a hard worker, is just flat out your own glory.

You're it you're in it for you, and what you can achieve and for the glory that comes from that.

Listen, we gotta realize here that the gospel is to be the great motivator of our hearts, right?

As we seek to be more diligent.

We gotta remember that as we think about the gospel, we gotta remember that that it's it's Christ who obeyed the law perfectly.

Right?

He never sinned whatsoever.

He was as diligent, literally as diligent as it gets.

And it's because of his perseverance to go to the cross and to take the wrath of God on himself.

He didn't quit, he was tempted to.

Right?

He didn't do that all.

No, he went ahead with it, even though there was there was much suffering involved.

He did that for you, so that you could be saved, so that you, you know, his righteousness could be yours and your sins could be forgiven.

You could be brought into a relationship with God.

Those are those things are to be the motivators of our heart.

And that goes for the lazy person who doesn't want to work hard.

Listen, Christ deserves our best, does he not?

He deserves the effort.

And it's to be the same motivator for those of us who are hard workers, but maybe for the wrong reasons.

Okay, so as uh as you kind of think about those things, I want to leave you with with this, okay?

Six blessings for the diligent.

Okay, six blessings for the diligent.

Here's the first one.

You will be properly honored.

You'll be properly honored.

Proverbs 22, 29 says this.

Do you see a man who's uh skillful in his work, he will stand before kings.

He will not stand before obscure men.

Right?

That that that's communicated in a way that's that's a good thing.

You will be you will be rightly honored.

Here's the second one, you will be a blessing to others.

When we're diligent, we can be a major blessing to other people.

Proverbs 10, 26 puts it in the negative.

Look at this, it says, like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

Okay, inferring the the that the opposite is also true.

You work hard, you're a diligent person, people will be blessed by it.

Here's the third one, the third blessing.

You will rise to leadership.

You'll rise to leadership.

Proverbs 12, 24 says, the hand of the diligent will rule, will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

You work hard, the Lord will put you in positions of leadership.

Again, that's meant as a good thing.

Fourth thing.

You lead a more stable life.

I think we see that all through Proverbs.

Proverbs 15 verse 19 says this the way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, not a good thing.

Proverbs 15:19

But the path of the upright is a level highway.

Right?

It's a picture of a stable.

If you work hard, there's stability in it for you.

Related to that is is this fifth one here, fifth blessing.

You will have plenty.

You will have plenty.

Proverbs 12, 11.

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread.

But he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

Okay, you will have plenty.

And then here's the the sixth blessing for the diligent.

You are actually wise.

Okay, let's not forget that that working diligently is the wise decision here.

And again, this whole series has been about how can we need wisdom, how can we be wise?

And one of the big things here says uh work hard.

You know, whereas Proverbs 26 verse 16 says the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes.

Proverbs 26:16

Okay, the sluggard thinks he's got it all figured out.

Where Proverbs 26, 16 says that, Proverbs 6, verse 6 says, go to or consider, depending on your translation, consider the ant, O sluggard.

Proverbs 6:6

Consider her ways and be wise.

Or you consider the ant, who's just the hardest worker ever, right?

Mushra would love the ant, right?

But you think about you think about the ant, how hard they were.

Consider that, and consider how you can be like the ant.

And then it says, and and be wise.

Okay, actually be wise.

So listen, we're gonna go to prayer now because I think we have a number of things to pray about.

We've got some confession, probably, uh, some of us, maybe all of us on some level.

We're gonna ask the Lord to reveal our hearts and and and and transform us here from our laziness, our our wrongly motivated hard work, and ask the Lord to transform our you know our our hearts from desiring comfort and laziness to being truly biblically, God glorifyingly diligent.

And then we're gonna pray that we would wisely make the most of our days and that it would all be to the glory of God alone.

So these are the things that we're gonna pray and encourage you to gather at the office with the people there or at home uh with your family again, gonna join you here in just uh five minutes or so uh for those of you on the Zoom call.

But let me close and pray and give this time to the Lord.

Lord, we thank you uh for your word.

We thank you for the multiple places in Proverbs that speaks to the issue of laziness, God, and and and how it it encourages us and motivates us towards uh diligence.

God, help us with this.

Lord, we know that our hearts are fragile and weak, and we all have sinful tendencies, and this is gonna be it for some of us.

And so, God, would you motivate us?

Would we not be in it to just make ourselves feel better or to impress other people?

But would the gospel truly be motivating us towards making most of our days?

So, God, bring conviction and lead us to true repentance, and then and then you, by the power of your Holy Spirit, the wisdom of your word, guide us towards being diligent followers of Jesus Christ in all areas of life.

So, God, hear our cries as we pray.

We pray this all in Christ's name.

Amen.