When Rest Becomes the Goal - Day 193 Month 7-11 Week 28-4
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Samuel 14:1-46, Proverbs 6:6-19, Lamentations 4
When Rest Becomes the Goal
“How long will you lie down, O sluggard?” “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.” (Proverbs 6:9a & 10)
Laziness. I could easily become a sluggard. Solomon points to the ant as an example. It prepares for different seasons, never stopping its work, yet it has no supervisor directing it. It simply continues preparing for what comes next.
Rest is a good thing. We all need it. Without enough rest we cannot function well. Many people cannot nap, but I can easily nap for an hour or more, wake up, and get right back into life. During much of my career, I worked long hours preparing for Christmas and Easter productions. For a period of my life, I worked my regular job and then took freelance show jobs between work days. The ability to nap was a wonderful gift. The purpose of the nap was always the same, to refresh myself for whatever came next.
It is when rest becomes the main goal that it begins to get in the way of accomplishing anything. The term couch potato was coined in 1976 by cartoonist Robert Armstrong as a picture of someone sitting passively, almost lifeless like a potato, watching television. That seems like a fitting description of a sluggard.
We have a beautiful eight acre property. Yesterday, after posting the day's blog, I went outside and cut the lawn. After that I trimmed weeds around all the flower gardens and generally tidied up the property. I did not come close to finishing the job. I probably have another couple of hours of weed trimming left because the property is so large. This is the first year we have been able to keep up with it. In previous years we were busy with outdoor renovations, so parts of the property were not maintained as well as they should have been.
When laziness sets in, we stop maintaining things. Life slowly gets away from us. It is like letting our property become overgrown. The longer we neglect it, the bigger the task becomes until it feels almost beyond our ability to restore it.
During the years when we are able to work and accomplish our goals, it is wise to prepare for the future by providing for ourselves and our dependents. If we do not, Solomon warns, “Your poverty will come in like a vagabond (a wanderer)” (Proverbs 6:11).
I also want to be clear that this is a proverb. It is a general statement about how life usually works, not a promise that applies to every situation. Some people live in poverty through no fault of their own. Others struggle because of circumstances beyond their control or because they are battling addictions. That is where wisdom calls us to compassion. We should work to provide for ourselves and our dependents, but we should also be willing to help those who are genuinely in need. Love does not ignore people who are struggling. It reaches out with compassion whenever it can.
Have a great day!
Steve
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