LAZINESS

Through the Bible, the Lord has a lot to say about laziness and it is not good. Not only does the Bible say that being lazy leads to poverty, but being lazy is not good for the soul. Furthermore, the lazy are referred to as being wicked. I searched the Bible for the words lazy, sluggard, and slothful. The laziness problem of then is still a problem today. The problem is perhaps made worse today in that there are so many government programs which essentially reward, enable, and empower laziness.

The truly needy are supposed to be helped by the church through charity. As a consequence, the needy learn the goodness of the church, the purpose of the church, and are accountable to get back on their feet as quickly as possible. It’s supposed to be church community helping its people. Those who might ever need help, or have been helped, tend to join or affiliate with the church. However, as we’ve discussed, the church has surrendered this Biblically ordained role of the church to the government. Rather than charity going to the needy, it’s taxes going to the needy and the lazy. Taking care of the needy is no longer a primary role of the church and charity is no longer the primary reason to give to the church. Programs which man has deemed more important have taken its place. Now, we have a system of taxation as the primary mode of helping the needy.

While the government gives all kinds of money to the needy, wanting, and lazy, there is an important feature missing. There’s little to no real accountability. Generation after generation of the lazy and wanting raid the government coffers to the point in which this blessed nation, with all its opportunities, programs, and freedoms, has a high poverty rate. The demand for more money for these programs is incessant.

With the whole charity and taxing dynamic being turned upside down, it’s no wonder that the government programs are out of control. Although the Bible says that “lazy hands make a man poor” and that the “sluggard craves and gets nothing,” the government is working hard to make that not be a reality. While the Bible warns the lazy that “poverty will come on like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man,” the government makes no distinction between the lazy and the needy. Although the government doesn’t care, the church should care that Scriptures say that the “one who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.” Laziness is not a trait we should empower, and we all know that the demand is endless: “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ They cry.”

Similar to many of those who panhandle at street corners, some people are very willing to take advantage of the generous nature of Americans. It would be good if the Parable of the Talents in which God expects us to do the best of our ability was impressed on every mind. Help should be for those who do their best and still can’t make it, not for those who bury their talents and are too lazy to try.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”