IRRITATING LAZINESS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.

Proverbs 10:26

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

NOTE: From Proverbs, Chapter 10 through Chapter 22:16, Solomon writes a series of individual proverbs for us to consider. I will try and group similar proverbs in my devotions as I cover what Solomon wrote over these chapters.

I think the question facing most people after they make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is, “Now what?” In other words, now that I have chosen to make Jesus the Lord of my life and in doing so received the salvation promise He offers, what’s next? What do I do now?

Jesus has an answer to this question and there is little doubt what He expects. And as those who are expected to submit fully to His authority, we have no choice but to respond to His direction in obedience.

So how did Jesus answer the “What’s next?” question? Here’s your answer:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

This command, referred to as the Great Commission, was delivered with the expectation of initiative and action. Jesus used action verbs in His orders like “go” and “make” and “baptize” and “teach”. There is no question what He expected His disciples to do then and there’s no doubt that the same expectation exists today as it will until the time which Jesus returns to judge the earth.

Yes, Jesus expects us to be busy and He has commanded that we devote our hearts, minds, and souls toward spreading the good news about Him so others might find their way to the same salvation we received when we accepted Him.

So how should we respond to this expectation?

The way I prescribe to is to offer myself to Jesus daily as a living sacrifice, asking Him to use me in whatever way He sees fit to further His kingdom here on earth. If you use this prayer and are dedicated to it in your heart and mind and soul, ready to go where Jesus calls you to go and do what He calls you to do, then rest assured, He will use you and use you a lot. As I like to testify to others, when you choose to go to work with Jesus, you will always be full time employed with LOTS of overtime. There is so much to do as the harvest is plenty but the workers are few.

All this sounds simple enough right? It couldn’t be more fundamental but there is one real problem in the execution of Jesus’ directive.

People are lazy.

I hate to say it buts it’s true. People today are just not willing to put in the work that Jesus commands us to do. They might seem busy from a life perspective but they are, as the scriptures would say, a sluggard from a spiritual sense and that’s the only sense that really counts.

Look at what Solomon had to say about the sluggard:

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.

This is the NIV translation. Look at a couple of other translations and how they interpret this verse:

Good News Translation

Never get a lazy person to do something for you; he will be as irritating as vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes.

New Century Version

A lazy person affects the one he works for like vinegar on the teeth or smoke in the eyes.

New Living Translation
Lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.

A sluggard, one who is lazy in the way they carry out their responsibilities, is an irritant to the one who employs them. This could be viewed from a worldly perspective and be just as true as from a spiritual one but I would suggest that there is far more at stake when we look at laziness in carrying out what Christ has commanded.

In the workplace, a lazy person is just not carrying their load. Maybe a task doesn’t get done as efficiently as possible if at all.

On the spiritual battlefield (the world) we walk daily, a lazy person is not an active participant in saving souls. People could perish as a result of missing out on a chance at eternal life and this is simply an unacceptable by-product of spiritual laziness, an irritating laziness to Jesus.

How irritating?

Look back to the proverb.

- It’s as irritating as vinegar to the teeth. Huh? What exactly does that mean?

Well, you would have to have some knowledge of vinegar and what it does to teeth when it comes into contact with them. Basically, vinegar is an acetic acid and acetic acid, when in the mouth, removed calcium from the enamel, the outer covering of the teeth. This exposes the teeth to the dangers and damage of decay.

In other words, laziness in carrying out Jesus’ command to make disciples for Him allows a person to continue to decay spiritually as sin continues to erode at their heart, mind, and soul.

- A sluggard also is as irritating as smoke to the eyes.

I don’t know about you but getting smoke in your eyes is one of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever experienced. You can’t see properly if at all and your eyes become watery and pained.

Neither of these two experiences, whether vinegar to the teeth or smoke to the eyes, are pleasant ones from a physical standpoint and so we have a tendency to reject them. We don’t use vinegar as a drink because we know it can cause more harm than good. We don’t get close to a fire because we know the smoke could get in our eyes and bring blindness and discomfort.

Know and trust this, the message that Jesus wants all His followers to hear today, that the sluggard is as irritating to Him spiritually as vinegar and smoke are to a person physically. And just as we would refuse to use vinegar as a drink because of the damage it can do, and just as we would distance ourselves from the smoke from a fire, Jesus will not use a person who trends toward sluggardness to do any good thing for Him. He will refuse to use them and distance Himself from them. He has no time for the lazy because He wants people who are ready to suit up, get out on the harvest field, and get to sowing souls toward His salvation.

In other words, Jesus wants those who are ready to answer His call and give Him their all just as He has given us His and continues to do so today.

Friends, I don’t know where you stand today in your actions for Christ but I do know this, if you are exhibiting laziness in carrying out the commands of Jesus, the One who has the ultimate authority over you, then you are exercising irritating laziness in His sight.

And if this applies to you, it’s time to get to work and tirelessly labor for the cause of Christ Jesus. He’s ready to put you to work full time with LOTS of overtime, now and forever.

Amen. 

In Christ,

Mark

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