The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. (Proverbs 26:13-16)

The Lazy Man

When God placed man in the garden, He instructed him to tend the garden and care for it. After the fall of man, God placed a curse on the ground. Man would toil by the sweat of his brow to grow food. Thorns and thistles would make the labor hard. In the Garden of Eden, the Lord provided for all the needs of Adam and Eve. After the fall of man, the herb of the field would require diligent cultivation to plant, grow, and harvest. It was placed upon the back of the man to live the rest of his life laboring in the soil where he would return. After the flood, when the world could eat meat, the same curse prevailed that man would have to labor to catch his food.

God requires His creation to work. Weeds, thorns, and thistles grow without effort but have no redeeming quality for the survival of man. The body requires certain nutrients to sustain life. Because of sin, the world lives in a constant state of the curse God imposed from the beginning: that man must work by the sweat of his brow. Throughout the scriptures, God rebukes the slothful, self-indulgent person who refuses to provide for himself and for his own. A lazy man is selfish, caring for no one but themselves. He will offer many excuses about why he cannot work, and all the while, the work is not being done.

The proverb writer shows the shame of those who refuse to work. A lazy man will cry out, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!” There are no lions in the street. This is a ploy to foment fear for what may be. His excuse is nothing more than imaginary delusions he makes up to avoid working the fields. He cannot work in the field lest a lion find him and tear him to pieces. There is no basis for his excuse because he is a lazy, indolent, slothful, and worthless person. God condemns this kind of attitude. A lazy man is like a door on a hinge. The door will move back and forth, but make no progress. It stays in place, moving about. A lazy man will roll over in his bed, refusing to go to work. He is so lazy that he has no desire to feed himself. He expects that others will fully care for him. When he is berated for his insolence, he appeals to his wisdom as a purpose in life.

Laziness is not the character of the child of God. Paul addressed a serious problem in the church of Thessalonica when he learned that some refused to work. His advice was that if a man refused to work, he would not be allowed to eat. Work and labor are the most basic of human characteristics and are necessary for life. A Christian is not a lazy person. God calls laziness walking in a disorderly manner before the Lord. Refusing to work is to refuse the will of the Father. What often happens to those who refuse to work for a living is that they become local gossips and busybodies in the affairs of others. The Lord commands His people to work in quietness and to enjoy the bounty of their labors.

One reason a Christian works is to share with others. A man who refuses to care for his own is worse than an infidel. That is the lowest of characters when a lazy man will not support his family. The purpose of work is to provide support so that those in need can be cared for. When Jesus described the judgment scene of the sheep and the goats, those who were saved were those who exercised benevolence to others. Lazy people will be on the left where the goats are, and where the judgment of perdition is carried out. It is a shame for a Christian to be a lazy person. God does not approve of laziness. (p.s. There are no lions in the street.)