By Robert Halsey Pine
“Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.” (Proverbs 6:1-19 NRSV).
Do you feel guilty now that you have heard how the ant is so disciplined without anyone pushing or telling it what to do? It religiously prepares its nourishment in the summer and gathers its sustenance in the harvest. We are called to live the life in Christ in this way. We must give up our lazy ways and prepare ourselves for His kingdom.
It is not that our laziness in the Lord is so hard to overcome. It is a matter of our choice and we really have but one choice. Otherwise we move away from our salvation. John tells the churches in his first letter that, “For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome; for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:1-12 NRSV)
Our spiritual laziness is our lack of faith. If our faith is strong, we have energy in the Lord. There is no sitting back and folding our hands. Our laziness comes from our lack of belief in the miracles of God. We give up too easily and say, “Nothing can be done here.”
We must not judge our situation by the circumstances and give in to spiritual laziness. Our faith is a catalyst that will bring God’s wonders into our lives. Faith is not relaxing, and we must not give up on it. It is our Godly sword and we must use it.
Robert Halsey Pine was born at Newark, Ohio in 1943. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and completed the program of Theological Education by Extension: Education for Ministry, School of Theology, the University of the South.