(Further reflections of "O Sluggard"--Sunday 26-Feb-2023)
Laziness sighs. There are signs of "sigh-ers." Excuses, accusations, grumbling, and blaming are the natural expressions of the lazybones.
Laziness knows the right thing to do but lifts no finger to do it and sighs. People who get around them will be 'infected' one way or another even without doing anything. "Sigh-ers" beget "Sigh-ers."
Laziness (slothfulness or procrastination or idleness) is foolish and wicked. Why? For foolishness, it is because it looks down at God's instructions and sets aside His wisdom. It understands it but doesn't do it. For wickedness, it is because it only consumes and does not multiply God-given resources (cf. Matthew 25:14-30).
Those who are lazy usually don't like to plan or prepare. They prefer last-minute business as perhaps the anxiety and pain of preparedness is overwhelming to them. Their default operating system is to let time fly or moments slide or opportunities glide as they like to sigh. Occasionally (if not regularly) sleepiness seems to be the main outlook of their daily/weekly mode. They might think that perhaps, "If I sleep, then my problem will go away."
Laziness consumes its hosts from the inside. It besieges resources, extracts abundance, and leaves one's soul in poverty (financially, emotionally, spiritually). Being lazy is like robbing yourself without being caught! Psychologically speaking (as we want and need to show compassion), laziness could be linked with hopelessness and low (no) self-esteem due to various likely/possible traumas. If this is you, please seek professional or pastoral help.
Alright. But how do I know if I am the lazy one? Or how can I spot "sigh-ers" in my working environments (for awareness and compassion)? And what are steps that I need to take in order to overcome laziness? Well, it's simple. God's word (Proverbs 6:6-11) tells us to go to the ants and learn.
1.) Check one's humility, harmony, unity, and preparedness. A lazy person in a given team or work environment, he/she tends to need supervision as they seemingly only work if there is a supervisor or manager (unlike the ants who need no middle/upper management, because they revere the Creator God). When this happens, the team's harmony and unity are affected. Also, lazy folks find it hard to receive teaching (even constructive), rebuking, and training, for they lack humility.
2.) Check one's mindset/behavior/lifestyle regarding wanting to get rich quick; having a pattern of borrowing small/big money; and finding excuses to do a proper job but still expecting the same results or payment like others. It can also sometimes be cloaked under wanting to work smart and not hard; paying attention to one's frequency and intensity of procrastination; or being aware of "glorified" or "romanticized" idleness (i.e. Italian expression, "Dolce far niente"--It's sweet doing nothing).
3.) How to overcome laziness. First, admit, acknowledge, confess, repent of this foolishness and wickedness. Practically, stop being lazy by starting to break big tasks into small ones and completing it one by one on a daily basis and not waiting for the weekend which deceives us into thinking of having more time, but in reality we don't. Ask for prayers and share with small groups (if/when comfortable) or schedule a counseling appointment with pastor.
May the grace, love, and mercy of the Lord our God and His supporting Body--the church grant us peace and strength not to become "sigh-ers" and overcome laziness and that with patience and hope, we continue to put our trust in Jesus and surrender to the ongoing sanctifying works of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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Pastor Lap
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