Sermon Delivered….Sept. 6

SEVEN DEADLY SINS “What is Sloth (Laziness)?” (Proverbs 6:6-11; 24:30-34)

OPENING A. ILLUSTRTION 1. What comes to your mind when you think of a sloth? • Is it one of those pictures?

B. BACKGROUND 1. Sloth is the old school name for “laziness.” • It’s the traditional term for laziness in the seven deadly sins category • In the Bible its often translated “sluggard” or “slothful” • Proverbs speaks of the sluggard or slothful seventeen times and has nothing good to say about it. 2. In our study of Proverbs we are looking at “Lessons for Life” categories. • We are looking at what the Word of God says about the commonly named Seven Deadly Sins. • Number 6 (though the order isn’t really important) is Sloth o Our more modern term would be “laziness” C. SERMON IDEA 1. Most people will come this sin on the list and tune out—“That’s not me, I don’t have that problem.” • They assume these verses are talking about the 30 year old guy who lives on his parents couch, with no job eating chips and watching TV all day. • We measure ourselves against people we know are lazy and we know that isn’t us. • But it’s not us who does the measuring, it’s God. 2. Work is not part of the curse of sin, laziness is and all of us are subject to its temptations. • The other extreme is the workaholic—that’s someone who doesn’t follow God’s plan of the cycle of work and rest. He created the Sabbath for that if you remember. o God has a plan for how creation works and how we are to work in creation—since the Garden of Eden, we tend to get out of balance. o Our focus today is on laziness. 3. Laziness is not character flaw or a secular issue—it’s a spiritual issue and God calls laziness sin. • We call these the seven deadly sins—remember why? o Because they destroy? Because the wages of sin is death. o Because without salvation, laziness is a sin that will lead someone to hell. • Tough words!?! Yes, but the wages of sin is “what”? Death. God doesn’t say some sins lead to eternal separation. Laziness is sin and God takes sin seriously. 4. Let me state up front—some of the characteristics of laziness could be attributed to mental or physical issues. • Like gluttony, there are some who have physical disabilities that can mirror the spiritual problem • I can’t cover all of those issues in a message nor is it my intent—it’s understood. If I said you should read your bible everyday but you can’t read, you get that right. Same here. • We are dealing in this message with actual choice of laziness:

I. THE CHARACTER OF LAZINESS A. EXPLANATION 1. The writer is speaking to the sluggard • The term means slow and hesitant when he should be decisive, active, and forthright. o LAZINESS: To be slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative, a foolish focus on self and desires of the moment rather than God and his plan.—David Prince, Professor of Preaching at SBTS. 2. The lazy person will not make up their mind • How long will you lie there, when will you get up (6:9) o There’s no answer. Like cold syrup oozing out of bottle. o His motto is don’t rush me. He’s lazy losing one opportunity after the next. o He’s dreaming about all the things he would achieve but won’t work hard enough to achieve them. o Some folks just don’t want to get up, make a decision and go to work o They hit the snooze button—one, twice, three times, four…. o When faced with a task, they focus on the obstacles and give up before they start • But for others it’s a problem with prioritizing o It’s choosing what you want to do over what needs to be done Proverbs 26:14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. ESV o There’s plenty of activity but it’s not really going anywhere o Some folks have plenty of activity but it’s not the right activity o They are too busy because they are too lazy to organize and prioritize • This person becomes a know it all—they can tell others what to do but can’t succeed in anything he doesn’t put things in the right order. Proverbs 26:16 The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. NKJV 3. The lazy person will not finish things Proverbs 26:15 The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. NKJV

Proverbs 12:27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man's precious possession. NKJV o The guy took the time and energy to hunt and get his pray but then didn’t finish the work to clean and cook it. o Game wardens call that illegal, God calls it sin. • They procrastinate o They start assignments the day before they are due o They repeatedly put things off to the next day o They get excited about new projects but don’t complete them once they start? o They go to meetings but never follow through on the plans Proverbs 10:26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him. NKJV o The person who won’t get the job done is an irritant to others. o So is the spouse who promises they will fix or do something but never get around to it. Proverbs 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. NIV • Another form of this is the struggle of constantly being sidetracked o Squirrel!! o The squirrel is often Facebook or Youtube or Angry Birds or whatever the current phone game is. Proverbs 12:11 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense. NIV 4. The lazy person will not face reality Proverbs 22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” ESV • A lion hanging out on main street? Really? Modern translation—“The dog ate my homework!” • What’s out there is a job and a mission to complete • They are good at making excuses but they seem legit to the one who makes it. So we tell ourselves a story to support our laziness and then tell it to others. • No one admits to laziness, we create a narrative to excuse it. o We say we will do something but when penned down there is always a reason why we can’t. B. ILLUSTRATION 1. I read this story about a tourist who was visiting an island and saw a local sitting on a stump. The tourist asked him. “How are things?” He responded, “Pretty tolerable, I had a lot of trees to cut down but a hurricane came through and saved me the trouble. And then lighting set fire to the trees and saved me the trouble of piling and burning them.” “That’s amazing!” the tourist responded, So what are you doing now?” The native explained, “Oh nothing much I’m just waiting on an earthquake to come along and shake the potatoes out of the ground.” 2. Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.—Charles Spurgeon

II. THE COST OF LAZINESS A. EXPLANATION 1. The lazy person lives in poverty. (6:11) • No one says, “My goal is to be lazy so I can live in poverty.” • But that’s what happens—laziness is self-centeredness. It is the craving for contentment—yet it produces discontent because it’s short sighted. • Poverty comes in many forms—we don’t’ just lose money. We can lose friends, family, reputation, respect, and promotions. Proverbs 19:15 Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger. NKJV 2. The lazy person is enslaved Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. NKJV • The most obvious truth is that if your laziness has put you in debt, then you have to work off what you owe. • But you may be enslaved to make up the past due term paper. • What about relationally or socially? We can be enslaved to the reputation we’ve earned, the loneliness we’ve created, or the failed opportunities because we’ve been lazy with our relational responsibilities. 3. The lazy person is wasting God’s opportunities and resources Proverbs 10:5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. ESV

Proverbs 18:9 A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things. NLT • Opportunities are not always there and what isn’t done well may have to be destroyed and done again. It’s a waste. • Anyone been lazy with something and it had to done over? B. APPLICATION 1. Those are symptoms of the underlying more serious issue. • Laziness is bad because it can lead you to material poverty, to embarrassment, to relational conflict. • But its ultimately bad because the wages of laziness is death. Proverbs 21:25 The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. NKJV

Proverbs 15:19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway. 2. Focus on this last verse a second—look at it—see? There are two pathways. • See the word thorns? Does that ring a bell? Look again at Proverbs 24:31 • Now turn with me to Genesis 3:17-18 (keep a marker here) o There is an imagery that the writer of Proverbs wants us to see. o Laziness is a sin issue—thorns and thistles make it difficult to work. o Thorns and thistles are the fruit of sin. o Laziness is a sin issue and sin is destructive—it’s not a minor issue. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. NKJV § That was instruction in the church among believers 3. Laziness leads to spiritual poverty and sinful enslavement • The wages of sin is separation from God. 1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. NKJV • In other words, if laziness is the character and there is no work ethic, evidence of genuine faith is in jeopardy.

III. THE CURE FOR LAZINESS A. EXPLANATION/APPLICATION/CONCLUSION 1. Proverbs 6:6 again. Solomon says let’s look at creation. Look at the ant. 2. There is an inner motivation • The ant does this not because there is a boss ant with a whip demanding it work. It’s motivation is internal. o Behind that motivation is an understanding. o Who was the first farmer? Think about it. Adam? Look at Gen 2:8. God was the first farmer o The look at Genesis 2:15. God created Adam and gave him a job. Then He gave Adam and Eve a job (2:18) § God gave them work before they sinned. Work is not the curse of sin. o Why did God do this? Look at 2:27 § God made us to work because we bear His image. He is a working God. § God worked six days and rested on the seventh. § Work is not part of the curse. The worldview is wrong—“Everybody’s working for the weekend” Remember that 80’s song? It portrays the idea that we all have that the goal is rest. That we work in order to get to rest. But that’s not the biblical truth—that’s the world’s twisted truth. We rest in order to work. Rest in necessary but it’s not the goal. God has a work and rest rhythm that the world’s spun backwards and upside down. The one who is dedicated to work according to God’s design will be dedicated to rest on purpose by that same design. Work isn’t evil—it’s the gift of God. Like any gift it can be neglected or abused by being overused. That’s why He gave us the work/rest rhythm. We always swing to extremes, cross out of his boundaries and crash. That’s sin. • Adam and Eve disobeyed the rules of work, personally I think Adam was being lazy as the spiritual leader of the home and the caretaker of the garden. They failed and with every sin we committed we continued to distort God’s image. o But God went to work—He worked the whole OT plan to bring Jesus. Born a carpenter (ya he worked). But he also worked Gods plan. He did everything God told Him to do. John 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. NKJV o Then he rested in a tomb. Then He arose to provide salvation for us. He worked for what we could not do for ourselves. o Behind that internal motivation is an internal transformation § The cure for laziness is to turn from sin and put our faith in Christ. § To turn from the laziness of sin and put our trust in Jesus to change our hearts. So we are created a new person and like the ant are motivated from the inside. § Believer struggling with laziness?—"the just live by faith”--repent and follow Christ. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. NIV 3. Look at the ant again—there is a future preparation • The ant works today for tomorrow. The summer is hot, so while we are resting in the shade drinking tea and eating a picnic. The ant is carrying off the sugar. Then she’s coming after the corn chips. She’s storing up rewards for the future. • For the believer, there is no such thing as secular work. Everything we do is work for our Creator. o God created the world and gave us the responsibility to work it and care for it. o Housework, teaching, farming, building, preaching, working the nursery, decorating, guarding the prison, doctoring, playing music in church or directing a business. o Believers have the opportunity to do what we were created to do—give glory to God by our dedicated work, help others come to know Him. We work to make our family, community and world a better place. And yes, await His rewards for our faithfulness. We are storing up rewards for the future. 4. Christians should be the best employees and bosses in town. They are the ones who can be counted on to work with integrity and put in a good day’s work. • They are the ones who know when its time to rest and they rest well. The work hard and rest on purpose—and you can see it in their joyful attitude. • The church is the place the world can or should look at and see a dedicated hard-working crew. They are committed to what they believe in. • If the world’s not seeing that, then they can’t see Him. That’s because we are lazy and need to repent. Because sin is separating us from God.