The Desire of the Sluggard Kills Him

Proverbs 21:25-26 -- The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor: All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

Are you a giver or a taker? “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Jesus said (Acts 20:35). The righteous do not hold back when they see need. They give. Paul urges such righteousness even on former thieves. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need (Ephesians 4:28).”

The lazy man fears to give because he has no source of getting, since he won’t work. He lives in an alternate world of wishing, where he gets what he wants without work. But desire combined with laziness kills the spirit, leaving a person imprisoned in covetousness. So the sluggard sullenly keeps what he has because his hands refuse to labor. Meanwhile, he eats his heart out with unsatisfied desire. While he craves and craves all day long for what he desires but won’t work for, he certainly won’t give to others.

Why do Solomon’s proverbs offer so many descriptions of lazy people? Lazy people rarely recognize their laziness for what it is. Instead, full of explanations and excuses, they often look for someone else to blame. A student I had never did his homework, so one Monday I asked him why. “I guess I’m just not motivated to do Algebra,” he explained, not so subtly suggesting that it was my fault for not motivating him. I replied, “You mean you’re lazy.” Indignantly, he said, “I’m not lazy. If there’s something I really want to do, I do it.” I said, “That’s the very definition of lazy. You only do what you want to do, not the things you have to do.” He glared at me the rest of the week, but on Friday he came in with the week’s homework done, slammed it on my desk, and said, “See, I’m not lazy.” But he was lazy, since two weeks later, again no homework.

These proverbs about the sluggard help the wise see the sluggard’s excuses for what they are – excuses. They also give the lazy person a chance to recognize what he is, a sluggard. Solomon’s proverbs show the lazy from one angle after another, holding a mirror up to him and saying, “See? This is you!” In this way, these many proverbs give the lazy person a chance to repent, start working, and become a giver who does not hold back.

Jesus gave Himself for us, a worker of righteousness for workers of no righteousness, and He did not spare or hold back anything. Praise be to God we have such a generous friend.

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Dr. Bill Edgar, former chair of the Geneva College Board of Trustees, former Geneva College President and longtime pastor in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA)

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Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.

Nov 2, 2020

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