Solomon was truly a remarkable man. In 2 Chronicles 1 God basically gives Solomon one wish. He can ask for anything at all, and the Lord would give it to him. Many of us might have asked for wealth or health or maybe an easy life, but Solomon’s response is different.
“Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chr. 1:10).
Solomon knew that in order to rule over God’s people well he needed more than wealth or even honor. He needed wisdom. God grants Solomon this request and gives him all the wisdom and knowledge he would ever need (plus much more).
Some say Solomon was the wisest person that ever lived (besides Jesus) and so we are truly blessed to have a book that was written by him, for us.
In our passage Solomon is addressing those in government. He talks about the fact that a kingdom is in trouble if it has a ruler who is irresponsible, who is more interested in frivolous things and whose officials are lazy and prone to gossip. With rulers like that the kingdom will crumble.
At first glance it is easy to think that this has very little application to our lives. But don’t dismiss these verses, especially the main verse for today which says this:
“Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks” (Eccl. 10:18).
Laziness won’t just cause problems in government, but in our own homes and lives as well.
Laziness is a kind of thief and a breaking of the 8th commandment. If I don’t do my job, or I do it poorly, I am wasting my company’s time and money and, quite possible, will get fired. If I don’t take care of my home, due to laziness, I am dishonoring God in the time that he has given me and not serving my family in the way that I have been called to serve them.
But there is another area of our life where laziness can be found. All to often we are lazy in our spiritual life and therefore lazy in the kingdom of God. Here are a few examples.
Laziness in fighting temptation will result in us sliding (often times unexpectedly) into sin.
Laziness in reading our Bibles will result in us growing dull in the knowledge of truth and we will not live as wisely as we should.
Laziness in meditating on God’s word will result in us quickly forgetting what we read.
Without meditation, the truths of God will not stay with us. The heart is hard, and the memory slippery—and without meditation all is lost! As a hammer drives a nail to the head—so meditation drives a truth to the heart.
– Thomas Watson
Laziness in prayer will result in much fear and worry.
Laziness in fellowship will result in discouragement and loneliness that comes from trying to live this Christian life on our own.
If we are lazy in our spiritual life we will be tossed all around in our emotions, in our beliefs and in our affections for Christ.
Ultimately, spiritual laziness will result in a lukewarm faith.
But praise be to our good God who has given us everything we need to live a strong and vibrant life. We need to repent of our laziness and ask God for the strength and desire to fight sin, read his word, meditate on truth and bathe everything in prayer. He is faithful, He will surely do it!
Looking To Jesus,
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Wow! Ouch! I typically would not think of myself As a lazy person bc I feel like I neve stop. It’s a race against the clock from 5/6 am till 11/1130 at night. And I feel like my work is never done. It can be oh so frustrating. Yet when I read the part on spiritual laziness I felt prickles in my heart. I do pretty well with keeping up reading the word but not so good on taking the time to meditate. I’ve sold myself short this study by not keeping up with soaping the readings. And my prayer life is definitely not where it needs to be. I know changes I need to make I’ve just not followed through with them. So thank you for your convicting words and please pray for victory in taking steps to make lasting changes.
Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability and courage to admit your weaknesses and struggles. I, too, find it hard to rest, to mediate on God’s word. I am aware of this and am trying to be better about it each day.
My response exactly!
I share you struggle Lauren and I felt the ouch too!
Thank you for your honesty Lauren! I’m sure that part of the post affected many of us, as we tend to see laziness as a lack of physical action. Such a great reminder! Thank you for sharing today!
Blessings, Marlene – LGG Encourager
“Laziness in fellowship will result in discouragement and loneliness that comes from trying to live this Christian life on our own.” This one pierced me! I am an introvert by nature. There are many of us in my family. Lately, I have been missing choir practice at church, special church events that were planned out, and woman’s group meetings. I struggle with interaction with big groups of people. I go to church on Sunday and miss Sunday nights and Wednesday nights often. Although I’ve been faithful in my daily devotions, I feel guilty about my lack of fellowship. I have become comfortable with my introvert ways. I am comfortable with sitting quietly and looking on. I am good with projects that require me to work in the background. I needed this jolt today! This is my lazy area. Lord please forgive my laziness and help me to press forward with my interaction with others. Help me to see the importance of interaction and fellowship with others.
I struggle with the same, Penny. It is very hard for me to get more involved and to be around a large group of people. And our home church is BIG. But I trust the Lord and His plan, and He has placed me right where I need to be. Don’t be too discouraged or too hard on yourself. Walk the path, stay obedient to His Word, and He will direct you where you need to go.
Blessings, Marlene – LGG Encourager
This one hit me right between the eyes, especially the spiritual laziness. When my schedule is routine I do okay but when we have company, go visit relatives or something else changes, then I begin to spend less time with God. A time I should spend more time with him. Thank you for taking this message beyond our government to our personal and spiritual lives. Praise God that he is ever so faithful to forgive and change us for His glory
Joann, thank you for sharing your thoughts and heart with us!
Blessings, Marlene – LGG Encourager
Thank you…I needed to hear this again. I love the Lord so much. And throughout my walk I know that I need my time with Him to have good days. Things get busy, business picks up and I find that even a call from my former bible study teacher can stop me from my time with Him. Time to take back my time (again) and give it to Him.