Proverbs 24:23-34: The Sluggard
YOU'VE FELT THE urge before; you've attended the soft voice that says: "The messy garage will still be there tomorrow; the chaotic closet won't run away. You've done enough for today. Leave that weedy flower bed till the weekend. Wait a few more days for the rest of the bills to arrive, and then you can pay them all at once! If you wash the car now, it'll rain, and then where will you be?" These seductions routinely beset a character the proverbs call the sluggard. We're apt to laugh in sympathy with the sluggard's feeble struggles to develop personal industry. After all, don't we know too well the sensual pleasures of a catnap? The proverbs laugh too, but it's more a snicker of scorn. The proverbs in this quiet time afford a bracing look at the sluggard.
Warming Up to God
What tasks are you most tempted to put off until tomorrow?
Read Proverbs 24:23-34. »
Discovering the Word
- Although most of us are no longer farmers, how could verse 27 be good advice for us?
- What characteristics of the sluggard do you notice (vv. 30-34)?
- In 6:6-8 we see how the ant, in contrast, stores up provisions. How could you apply the remedy suggested by the ant to the one area of sluggardliness you mentioned previously?
- How is the poverty that overcomes the sluggard like a bandit or an armed man (v. 34)? (What characteristics, for example, do such poverty and a bandit have in common?)
- The proverbs hold out little hope for reforming a committed fool. On the other hand, why might there be some hope for reforming a sluggard?
Applying the Word
- Sometimes we need to rest! What is the difference between resting and being a sluggard?
- Describe one area of your life where two or three characteristics of a sluggard are evident (for example, housework, desk, various chores, yardwork, grooming, wardrobe and so on). Be honest!
Responding in Prayer
Ask God to make you a good steward of the time and resources he's given you.
For Further Study
Stewards in the Kingdom by R. Scott Rodin