Laziness is Not Rest

Proverbs 20:4 Some people are too lazy to plant seeds. So at harvest time, they look for food and find nothing.

Different people respond to the pressures of modern life in different ways. One answer, is to give up. To draw a line and say “That’s it, I’ve had enough.”

Have you ever felt like throwing the towel in? You’ve been working so hard that it’s worn you down.

So you look at it all and think to yourself, “Why don’t I just give this all away? Why don’t I sell up, find a quiet hamlet somewhere, grow my own vegetables and lead a hermit kind of existence.” Or some people, in countries that have a social safety net, just go onto unemployment benefits. I know of families that are third and fourth generation unemployed, on Government benefits. Hey, why not?!

Look, having a rest, a weekend off, a holiday, they’re important things to do. None of us is a machine. We all need a break. That’s a good thing. But every now and then we’re tempted to give up altogether, because it’s all too much. To put it bluntly, we want to reap the harvest, but we’re sick of planting the seed.

Proverbs 20:4 Some people are too lazy to plant seeds. So at harvest time, they look for food and find nothing.

Imagine a farmer who’s too lazy to plant the seed, going out into the field at harvest time and complaining that there’s no crop to bring in! No, being lazy isn’t the answer. It’s just not fulfilling. It’s hollow, it’s empty.

Laziness is not the answer to tiredness. Rest is and it turns out that rest, at least the sort that God wants to give us, is something we’re meant to find right in the middle of the lives we’re living.

Rest is a good thing. God’s rest is a great thing. Laziness is not.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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