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CHURCH OF CHRIST 4700 GENERAL DEGAULLE DRIVE

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April 14, 2019

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We're all against laziness, in theory, but how can we tell if we fit the category?

A Sluggard…

…Has Problems With His Alarm Clock. A Danish proverb says, “A lazy boy and a warm bed are difficult to part.” The Bible says, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep” (Proverbs 6:9-11). How much sleep is enough? The comedian quipped, “For the average person - about an hour more.” The Italians say, “Five hours of sleep a traveler, seven a scholar, eight a merchant, and eleven every knave.” Truthfully, it varies from person to person. Children need more sleep than adults; young adults often more than older adults. Some on medication or with health problems require nine or ten hours. Others with strong constitutions require only four to five. Each can experiment for a week at time at different amounts (it takes time to adjust) to find where he/she feels best and is most productive. Once this is determined, don't spend more time between the sheets than needed. Eats the Wrong Kind of Toast. The worthy woman “looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness” (Proverbs 31:27). You may like Flowers, Merita, Sunbeam, Peppridge Farm, or Dixie Darling, but don't eat the bread called Idleness. Parents should not feed this brand to their children, either. Whatever happened to children getting up in time to make their beds before school and having chores to do after school? Many would have better grades if they had a couple of hours a night with the books instead of with the remote control. Not a few come to Bible class without ever having looked at the lesson or memorized that week's verse.

Fathers need to teach sons the value of work. The Jewish proverb has a grain of truth in it: He who doesn't teach his son a trade teaches him to steal (cf. Proverbs 22:6). One reason that employers have trouble getting production from young workers is that some dads never taught their sons to work. It was easier just to do it themselves or hire someone rather than teach them how to do it or motivate them to leave the TV or Nintendo long enough to mow the grass, wash the car, hoe the garden, change the oil, rake the leaves, help the widow, organize their room, or clean the basement. This is a failure of parental responsibility.

Mothers, too, need to teach daughters how to keep the house straightened, prepare meals, purchase groceries and supplies, sew a button on (perhaps even make a shirt), take food to the bereaved, and care for the needs of husbands and children. Otherwise how will they be prepared to do what God wants them to? The Bible says, “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide1

the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully” (1 Timothy 5:14). Older women are to “teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers2 at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5). Keeps Company With a Bad Brother. “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster”

Morning Bible Class 9:00 AM Morning Worship 10:00 AM Pew Packers 5:30 PM Evening Worship 6:00 PM

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Wednesday Bible Class 7:00 PM

ALLEN WEBSTER

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(Proverbs 18:9). “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious” (Proverbs 12:27). These verses are saying that a slothful man fails to use his advantages. The diligent may not have much, but he makes good use of what he has. A fool may have more, but he can't keep it. The dollar he wastes is sure to be gained by a wiser person.

From the Prodigal3 Son (Luke 15:11-32) we gain three key economic thoughts: (1) wasted his substance; (2) when he had spent all; and (3) began to be in want. It works that way. Waste and want belong together and cannot be separated long. If money runs through our pockets like water through a sieve, then we should not be surprised to find our wallets usually empty. This boy learned in the School of Hard Knocks, but the tuition was awfully high. By the time he got back home, ragged and tattered with his stomach pulled in against his backbone, he was not wanting to give any lectures on finance nor on what he per-haps had once thought was the old man's penny-pinching ways.4

This applies in practical terms to saving food leftover from one meal to use at another (cf. John 6:12), saving articles for reuse instead of discarding them, using coupons or sales when possible, and putting aside a portion of the salary each week for savings instead of blowing the surplus. Solomon said, “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up” (Proverbs 21:20). It also implies taking care of property by cautious use, regular cleaning, and immediate repair. For instance, becoming a homeowner brings with it the responsibility to keep it up. Scripture warns, “By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through” (Ecclesiastes 10:18). Each of these adds to one's overall financial standing and enables one to give more to the Lord. A lazy man will never be a good giver (cf. Ephesians 4:28; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

Watch when you get up, what you eat, and what goes in the trashcan - these are the practical reminders of laziness. A Sluggard Has Problems With "Lions" A lazy man's life is more complicated than a working man's. The harder he tries to escape difficulty, the more it chases him. The problems he avoids are replaced by bigger ones.

The slothful man saith, “There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets” (Proverbs 22:13). He is as good at making excuses as the high school sophomore who was assigned a term paper. When due day came the teacher went to collect it, he said, “My dog ate it.” The teacher, who knew he had not worked much on his paper, still at least expected a better excuse. She gave him a hard stare. He persisted, “It's true. I had to force him, but he ate it.”

“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain” (Proverbs 15:19). This is saying that to those who do not want to work, the work always looks too hard (thorns), but once a man gets into it, it sorts itself out and was not as hard as it looked (plain). It is foolish to frighten ourselves from real duties by fancied difficulties. The French say, “With enough ‘ifs' we could put Paris into a bottle.”

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A farmer sat in front of his shack in July. A friend asked, “How's your cotton coming?”

“Ain't got none,” he answered. “Didn't plant none. ‘Fraid of the boll weevil.”

“Well, how's your corn?”

“Didn't plant none. ‘Fraid o' drought.”

“How about your potatoes?”

“Ain't got none. Scairt o' tater bugs.”

The man finally asked, “What did you plant?”

“Nothin',” answered the farmer. “I just played it safe.” A Sluggard Has Problems With His Mouth Paul warned about young widows who had no family responsibilities: “withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not” (1 Timothy 5:13). Often the greatest troublemakers in the church are those doing the least. The old farmer explained, “It's hard for a mule to kick and pull at the same time.” William Blake quipped, “Expect poison from the standing water.” Following the path of least resistance is what makes people and rivers crooked. Idle words will bring judgment (Matthew 12:36-37). A Sluggard Has Problems With His Hands, But Not His Wishbone “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour” (Proverbs 21:25). “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4). The dilemma of the lazy is that his hands won't work but his mind does. He desires the gains the diligent get, but hates the pains they take. He looks at the house, vehicle, land, and property of a hard-working man and comments how he would like to have a life like that. But he is unwilling to set the alarm, go to work, maintain a relationship with superiors and co-workers, save, invest, give to God, and keep up such assets. Benjamin Franklin said, “Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him.” God says, “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man” (Proverbs 24:34). Poverty, though at first at a distance, gradually draws near, like a traveler; and when it arrives, is like an armed man, too strong to be resisted. Laziness grows on people - it begins in cobwebs and ends in chains.

Even a working man must control what he desires for no one can (or should) get everything he/she wants. If we are not careful we will purchase little extras and spend on this or that entertainment to the point that we do not have enough to give generously to God or to make the big purchases our families need. “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich” (Proverbs 21:17). A Sluggard Has Problems With His Calendar It is always on the wrong page. The lazy person speaks

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THIS WEEK APRIL 14 Sunday AM

Welcome: Howard Goodale

Prayer: Tyrone Barthelemy

Song Lead: Howard Goodale

Roland Keith Mark 15:29-39

Lord’s Table: Paul Macaluso (2)

Sermon: Wes Arabie

Dismissal: Yahmaine L. Ford

——————— Sunday PM

Welcome: Howard Goodale

Prayer: Stephen Goodale

Song Lead: Ron Landis

Lord’s Table: Paul Macaluso (2)

Sermon: Wes Arabie

Dismissal: Nicklas Smith

Service Time

2019 Goal

Last Week

BibleStudy 70 73SundayAM 100 97SundayPM 60 58Wednesday 60 65

Bible Reading Reading

Plan 2019 Goal

Last Week

DailyReaders 45 39Biblein2019 45 24NTin2019 60 44MyPlan2019 60 54

“Praywithoutceasing.”1Thessalonians5:17

NEXT WEEK APRIL 21 Sunday AM

Welcome: Scott Cain

Prayer: Ron Landis

Song Lead: Howard Goodale

Steve Tucker Matt. 27:39-50

Lord’s Table: Paul Macaluso (2)

Sermon: David Looney

Dismissal: Keith Cooper

——————— Sunday PM

Welcome: Scott Cain

Prayer: Roland Keith

Song Lead: Stephen Goodale

Lord’s Table: Paul Macaluso (2)

Sermon: David Looney

Dismissal: Eugene Carter

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much about yesterday and more about tomorrow. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, not today, Hear the lazy people say” (German proverb). The lazier a man is, the more he is going to do tomorrow. The Bible's great emphasis is on now (used 407 times in the New Testament) and today (used nineteen times). For instance, it says, “To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts,” (Hebrews 3:7-8). Paul wrote, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” (2 Corinthians 6:2b). The lazy man is always going to get around to it tomorrow. “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep” (Proverbs 24:30-33). A Sluggard Has Problems With His Pantry God suggests a fieldtrip is in order for the lazy man. “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest”

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(Proverbs 6:6-8). Ants have been famous in all ages for social habits, foresight, economy, and industry. Collecting food at the proper seasons, they bite off the ends of the grain to prevent it from germinating, and lay it up in cells till needed. Though one of God's smallest creatures, it has a lesson to teach the sluggard. Even the ant is smart enough to know it has to work to get ahead. There is no way to get without getting with it. Winter is coming; prepare in summer.

Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: “for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11; cf. Ephesians 5:14). Endnotes: 1. oikodespoteo, to be the head of a family in the sense that she

runs the business of the family. Though her husband is the head of the house, she runs the day-to-day affairs of the household. This takes skill, industry, and training.

2. oikouros, from oikos (a dwelling, house) and ouros (a guard; be ware); a stayer at home, domestically inclined (a good housekeeper)

3. This word means wasteful. 4. Brownlow, Leroy. Living on the Plus Side of Life.