There are few things worse in this world than one who knows what he ought to be doing, and still deliberately and intentionally chooses laziness instead. It is a short lived glory, for those who struggle most deeply with laziness are the ones who often are most aware and most capable of accomplishing many great things. And when you are that kind of person, as I am, laziness is one of the most dangerous vices one could fall into. Laziness, once begun, is an immediate and downward spiraling habit which may nearly be called a dangerous and revolting addiction. One hour spent in laziness quickly feeds into 4 hours of laziness, and without the mighty power of God to pull you out, will only feed itself into further laziness and depression. Suddenly, 1 hour of laziness becomes the dangerous pattern of a lifetime of laziness. This is not an exaggeration or a scare tactic, friend. This is immediate and serious (as sin always is) but this is one of those sins which creeps in quickly and takes deep root. It is not like drinking, or cursing, or lying, which although just as destructive and abhorrent to God, build themselves so slowly you almost don't notice. The enemy, with sins like those, most often uses a slow and steady exposure and opportunities to practice, so that one day, you suddenly notice that every other word you utter is unglorifying to god, or that your drinking habits have somehow spiraled out of control to the point of an addiction. But laziness, laziness takes root so quickly that you don't have time to notice or react. It's one of those things that you almost can't trace, it happens so fast. It has you on your backside so fast, and then it holds you there. Hard.
And this is where we humans sit. Stuck between sins that take hold in our lives so deeply and quickly that we can't root them out, or so slowly and deeply that we can't root them out. Either way, we are stuck. The enemy never lobs us a soft underhanded pitch of sin, that we see coming and easily bat away. That is too easy for us, and gives him no leverage. Not that those sins ought be ignored or that we ought to remain unprepared. But rather, we must meet them, while recognizing that the devil has his best hold over us when we can no longer see what is coming.
Let us take a moment, then, to understand what exactly laziness is. Perhaps, a better approach would be to understand what laziness is not. Laziness is not resting. Resting, likewise, is not laziness. Although, they can sometimes look the same. Watching TV can be a lazy act, or it can be a restful act. So how are we to differentiate if the actions sometimes look the same?
Resting involves being in communion WITH the Lord. It is sweet, and refreshing, and delightful! It brings smiles and laughter and fellowship, and a deep-rooted joy! It is something we seek in the war-time lifestyle we live, when we have fought a hard day's battle and know we are in a safe place surrounded by God's goodness. It is always, always with the end of winning the battle in mind - recognizing that as we depend on the Lord for our strength, our sinful selves cannot sustain us - even when we are trying as hard as we might to rely on that Gracious God we serve. It is temporary rest, that we might be refreshed, renewed, sanctified, convicted, empowered, and strengthened for the battle that lies ahead of us again (take a close look at 1 Peter 5:6-11. The Devil is an adversary "like a roaring lion... prowling around". This is most definitely a wartime life. But the Lord promises the refreshment and strengthening we need, if we only humble ourselves.) This is not to say we ought ever take the battle into our own hands - this would be entirely destructive to the cause, and would result in utter failure. Rather, there is a difference between resting our bodies and souls and minds in Christ, and depending on Him as we fight for and alongside and through Him.
Laziness is selfish and an end in itself. Laziness, if you have ever taken the time to notice, will only breed more laziness. Rest, on the other hand, breeds a fierce and rejuvenated desire to return to the battle we are fighting. Have you ever noticed that? One hour of rest is often enough that we may continue the day or the next few days in a battlefield mindset, glorifying and exalting the name of Lord effectively! But one hour of laziness leaves you unfulfilled, seeking another hour, and another and another. Laziness sucks motivation from us faster than just about anything else! Laziness does not seek the end of winning the battle for Christ, but seeks to create the truth that we are the center of the universe. Friend, you live like this ore often than you know. When someone does not move off the sidewalk for you, even when they are taking up the whole sidewalk, and you get upset, what is it that you are implicitly saying? You are not only angry because that person is acting as if the world revolves around them (which we both know it does not), but if that alone were the truth you might be saddened, or compassionate. But anger and frustration indicates that you are believing that while the world does not revolve around them, it DOES revolve around you! You, whether you say it or not, probably act like you think the world revolves around you more often than you know. Laziness is the ultimate statement that our time is our own, that our resources are our own, and that we can do with them as we please. It is the ultimate "F--- you" to the Lord's sovereign provision in our lives, and to the task the Lord has given to us - one which will be fulfilled whether we choose to participate or not.
This is where the posture of our hearts is so important, and requires constant examination and readjustment! We must always be aware of where our hearts sit, of how we are understanding ourselves.
Think on this, friend: Jesus did not die on a bloody, murderous cross that you might spend time in front of TV, or that you might have a big house.
Read that again. Slowly.
Also: The point of the Gospel is not that you get God. The point of the Gospel is that you are made righteous in God's eyes that you might worship him. The fact that we get to be counted righteous despite our numerous sins, that we get all the gifts and glories of God is a wonderful, breathtaking thing - I am not trying to downplay this one iota. It is a mystery that I do not pretend to understand one tiny little bit, and one that absolutely sweeps me off my feet and takes my breath away; it brings me to tears on my knees in a way I could not otherwise be humbled. It is the most incredible thing. It is beauty. But do not loose yourself in this beauty that you cannot see the end for which this was done. The end is not that we are the most important things in the universe. When you stop at "we get God" as the end of the Gospel, you are saying implicitly that YOU are the most important thing in the world; that God thinks you are SO important that He would send His only son to die a horrendous death in order to bridge the despicable and revolting gap of infinite sin that you could never overcome alone, and defeat the incredible power of that sin and it's wages, death, for your salvation. Not true friends. GOD is the most important thing. He did send His son, only out of gracious love for you, but first and foremost out of his desire to have a people for himself. Not just to be a saviour, but to be a saviour that he might have a people to worship him! Jesus did not say, "Therefore, go, and have comfortable and joyful lives knowing that you have eternal salvation". Jesus said, "Therefore, go and make disciples in my name, baptising them in the name of the father and the son and the spirit." This is a wartime cry, one which proclaims the goodness and sovereignty of the Lord.
It is a difficult truth to grasp. It often seems, for our sinful hearts, sometimes an ugly truth. But when we understand our true position - that this is what we were created for - then the truth suddenly becomes much more palatable (not that this ought to be the ultimate point of accepting truth). Nothing else will satisfy us. Least of all, living as if we are the center of the universe.
And so laziness can no longer be one of those "little sins" that we overlook easily. The enemy would have us believe that laziness is only a little slip-up, that it's not that bad. But it is. Laziness must be something that we guard our hearts against, day and night, that the enemy might not gain an all-too-easily claimed foothold in our lives.
This is where I need repentance. I confess that I have been lazy in my school work over the last week. I confess that I have been lazy in my prayer life - in praying for others, in praying for this city, in praying for the nations, in praying for my church family, in praying for the leaders of this country, in praying for the humility to do my job and my schoolwork to the best of my ability and to the glory of God. I confess that I have been lazy in the way I approach evangelism, that I have been lazy in the way I am fighting sin in my life, and in being a part of community. I confess that I have too often tried to rely on my own strength and have lost battle after battle. I confess that I have been lazy in my worship of the Lord - that I have allowed my emotions to be an impediment.
But the wonderful thing is, the Lord, despite being the ultimate end, became the ultimate picture of humility, and "being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil. 2:8). And it is in this that the Lord has wiped out my sin - blotted it out forever. That I may continue to be seen as righteous, in order to be a reflection and manifestation of God's glory. Praise be to God.
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