VIRUS: Hidden Infections of the Spiritual Life
Laziness – Sitting Pretty on Your La-Z-boy Throne
Intro: We live in a world of germs and viruses. In many ways we live in fear of the next mutation. Whether it’s the flu or the threat of germ warfare, we live in a time in which the micro-biological world is a powerful enemy. Since 1981, there have been some 950,000 cases of AIDS. West Nile now claims up to 150 people per year. While there are no cases of Mad Cow Disease or the Bird Flu it’s believed a single case could become a disastrous epidemic b/c there is no real antidote or cure. Yet while we have a good reason to be concerned about the viruses and germs floating around waiting to infect our lives, I believe we should have an even greater concern about the spiritual viruses that seek to infect our souls.
Trans: During the Middle Ages, church leaders identified (7) spiritual viruses that if left unchecked could destroy the soul. They called them the (7) deadly sins: Laziness, Lust, Anger, Pride, Envy, Gluttony, and Greed. It was believed that these items carried w/ them a deadly spiritual toxin that could destroy one’s life. But in and of them-selves they’re not so much sins as they are dispositions that lead us to sin.
Trans: Over the next (7) weeks we’re going to place each of these spiritual viruses under the microscope of God’s Word to understand their infectious tendencies and to discover an appropriate remedy to bring health and healing to our lives.
Trans: Today we’re going to begin our series by looking at the virus of LAZINESS. What is it? Where does it come from? How does it work?
Trans: Often called sloth, laziness is a fatal virus able to debilitate the best of men. In our politically correct school system it’s called “energetically declined.”
Story: Laziness is so bad there’s a club – Lazi-holics Anonymous. Meetings are filled w/ what are described as “downwardly mobile people.” They serve free espresso at the meeting to try and speed up the discussion. You might be wondering if you’re a potential lazi-holic or know someone who is – they’ve developed a test to help you identify if you are. Here are (3) I found amusing to get you started.
1 Do you get annoyed when people talk about work related matters at work?
2 Do you find your sick leave is used up when you actually get sick?
3 Do you find yourself thinking about taking a vacation while on vacation?
Trans: Now I don’t put much stock in the Lazi-holics, but in the Bible laziness is seen as a serious problem w/ detrimental consequences that should be avoided at all cost.
I THE ROOT OF LAZINESS (read Matthew 25:14-30)
Recap: The Master gives (3) men money to manage while he’s away. Two of the men prove to be good stewards taking their Master’s gift and turning it into a profit. But the 3rd servant squanders the opportunity and is forced to face the disappointment of the Master who confronts the servant who claimed he was afraid. The servant explained that he didn’t do anything b/c he was afraid. But the Master doesn’t buy it and says that the servant wasn’t afraid but rather that he was wicked and lazy.
Word: lazy – to delay by procrastinating.
Note: Laziness is failing to take advantage of God-given opportunities and abilities.
Note: Jesus called this wickedness b/c failing to take advantage of God-given opportunities is to commit an act of evil contrary to the heart and will of God.
Note: Laziness is failing to take advantage of your God-given opportunities and abilities procrastinating what you know you should and must do until you are forced to do it and then taking the least path of resistance to see it happen.
Note: Laziness is as much a priorities problem as it is an activities problem.
Quote: Laziness is the sin by which we ignore our obligations. Campolo
Quote: The laziest man I’ve ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so that they might turn themselves over. W.C. Fields
II THE REALITY OF LAZINESS
A Lazy in LABOR (Work Life)
Verse: Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord. (KJV) Rm. 12:11
Note: This is a direct command to do our very best at work. No matter how lazy our colleagues might be, we’re always to work as if working for the Lord.
Harris: 63% agreed very few people work as hard as 10 years ago
Poll 78% have less pride in their work than 10 years ago
16% said they were doing their very best at work and home
84% said they could do 2x as good if they really wanted to put forth the effort.
Verse: In everything you do, in word or in deed, do it unto the glory of God. Col. 3:17
Verse: One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a thug; they were overgrown w/ weeds, thick w/ thistles, all the fences broken down. I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened: "A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy – do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, w/ poverty as your permanent houseguest! Pr. 24:28-30
Word: Lazybones – a person’s who avoids exertion. The Heb. word says a lazy man lacks sense. Only a fool would squander his God-given opportunities and abilities.
Letter: There has been a lot of criticism about people who do not work – especially those who are collecting welfare. Most people prefer to work and that’s fine, but others may prefer to sit in the park, or go to the beach, or observe the wonders of nature. Now those who dislike working shouldn’t be penalized by being deprived of the benefits of our society. There’s plenty for all. Everyone doesn’t feel the same way about working. Some have built in feelings about it that makes it very unpleasant for them to work – especially when it’s required. Now could this be looked upon as a handicap? We don’t push others w/ handicaps. Our society provides for them and it should do the same for those w/ a natural dislike for work. Why can’t we just live and let live w/ each to his own style? Letter to the editor of the L.A. Times
Note: Can you believe this guy. He is proof positive that some people are willing to do anything to do nothing. Let me remind you of what God thinks…
Verse: We also gave you the rule that if you don’t work, you don’t eat. 2 Th. 3:10
Insert: Don’t be like the lazy man who asked his boss for a raise. The boss said your raise will become effective just as soon as you are.
B Lazy in LOVE (Family Life)
Verse: Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. 1 Cr. 13:4 (Underline ALWAYS)
Insert: This verse teaches a vital truth – love requires hard work. Too many people have a Hollywood perspective of love thinking it’s something you fall in and out of and then dispose of it like trash. Relationships require great effort and hard work b/c love isn’t something you just feel, it is something you do.
Insert: After years of counseling couples I’m in agreement w/ author and Psychotherapist M. Scott Peck. He insists that laziness is the major cause of failed relationships and families. 99% of the people I counsel are in my office b/c they were too lazy to be the spouse or parent they knew they should have been to begin w/.
Insert: I counseled a couple once in Jackson who had made a mess of their marriage b/c of selfishness and laziness. The husband complained that his wife didn’t love him and had cheated on him. After some detective work, I discovered he was more committed to his job and hobbies than to his wife – she felt like a maid and a bed mate. When I finally confronted his habits and what he needed to do to save his marriage, he told me he didn’t have the time or energy to rectify the problem – that a divorce would be easier. It was easier, he was lazy. He procrastinated what he knew he needed to do and then wanted to take the least path of resistance to solve it.
Trans: In parenting it is a parent’s job is to provide external controls until their children have learned internal controls. But for children to develop internal controls their parents have to work to give them external controls. Unfortunately, too many parents are just too lazy to provide the external controls their children need to develop a sense of morality and values. It takes hard work to be a loving parent. Parenting requires becoming engaged in the lives of your kids. Knowing and screening their friends, their music, and their habits. It requires taking responsibility as opposed to passing that responsibility on to someone else like a teacher, coach, or even a pastor. Do you know that I’ve had parent that actually believe that I was responsible for their child’s problems? I don’t think so! In most cases, your children are the way they are b/c of your investment in their lives.
C Lazy in the LORD (Spiritual Life)
Verse: God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. Now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet or become lazy. Be like those who stay the course w/ committed faith and get everything promised to them. Hb. 6:10-12
Note: Are you doing your very best in the Lord or just enough to think you’re getting by? Are you as faithful in your worship, in your stewardship, and in your walk as you know that God wants you to be? If not, then you are being lazy in the Lord.
Quote: Too many churchgoers know how to sing Standing on the Promises while they sit on the premises. Their head knowledge never seems to touch anyone else’s life.
Note: Walking w/ Jesus takes hard work and discipline. That’s why Paul said “I beat my body to make it do what it should do instead of what it wants to do.” He told Timothy to be a disciplined soldier, a focused athlete, and a diligent farmer.
Fact: Too many churchgoers want enough of Jesus to be saved but not enough to have to change their life habits. But following Jesus will never be convenient w/ the world. It requires total and daily surrender.
Verse: Jesus said to them, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake the same shall save it.” Lk. 9:23
III THE RESULT OF LAZINESS
A POVERTY
Verse: Lazy hands bring poverty, but hard-working hands bring riches. Pr. 10:4
Verse: Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, w/ poverty as your permanent houseguest! Pr 24:34
Note: Poverty comes to those who refuse to work. Listen. Not everyone who is poor is b/c they are lazy, but every person who is lazy will end up poor.
Quote: Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes them. Ben Franklin
B PROBLEMS
Verse: A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble; it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes. Pr. 10:26
Idea: Lazy people will be an irritant to the people around them. They’re like a millstone to the organization. Have you ever noticed how lazy people affect the whole? They sap the organization of energy, frustrate the diligent, and take the focus off the mission.
Note: At church, lazy Christians just get in the way. They serve as road blocks. There complaining and shenanigans always arise at the most inopportune times to prevent the whole from moving forward. Lazy people enjoy complicating progress.
C PAIN
Verse: Being lazy is like walking in a thorn patch, but everyone who does right walks on a smooth road. Pr. 15:19
Insert: Like walking in a thorn patch – sounds like a good time.
Note: I remember as a boy a time when I was walking in the woods and stepped on a yellow jackets nest. I immediately had a painful problem. I remember running home screaming and swatting as I entered the house. Those insects had stung me over 40 times.
Note: The writer of Proverbs is underscoring the ultimate pain that laziness can bring.
III THE REMEDY OF LAZINESS
A LIVE FOR THE ETERNAL TODAY
1 WALK in the Spirit
2 WORK unto the Lord
B THRIVE FROM THE INSIDE
Insert: Every AM in Africa a gazelle wakes up knowing that it must out run the fastest lion or it will be eaten. The lion wakes up and knows that it must out run the slowest Gazelle or it will starve. Thus, every AM when the Gazelle and lion wake up they understand this one simple truth – if you want to survive the day then you’d better hit the ground running.
Verse: You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. How long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? Pr. 6:6-8
Note: The ant teaches us that we must be motivated from w/in w/ the will to survive.
Insert: If you want to be a good spouse or parent, a good Christian, a good boss or employee, etc., then find w/in you the will to succeed and nurture it w/ godly accountability and w/ intestinal fortitude.
Insert: I think of dieting. Lately I have noticed that I’m being overwhelmed w/ furniture disease – my chest is falling into my draws. For this to change my eating and exercise habits have got to change and my excuses have got to go. But how much do I want it? God wants it for me b/c he has called me to be a good steward of my body. My wife wants it for me b/c she cares about my health. My children want it b/c they want a jungle Joey to play on. But do I want it.
C FINISH WHAT YOU START
Quote: Quitters never win and winner never quit.
Verse: Some people dig a fork into the pie but are too lazy to raise it to their mouth. Pr. 12
Insert: Personally I don’t know anyone like this, but how pathetic is it when you are so lazy you want even lift the fork to you face to feed it – obviously not a Baptist at a churchwide picnic. The point is finish what you start.
Funny: There used to be this bully who would take my lunch money each day. I decided to fight back so I started taking Karate lessons @ $5 a lesson. Then I realized that it was cheaper to pay the bully than it was to take karate, so I quit karate and started paying the bully. Jack Handley
D ELIMINATE YOUR EXCUSES
Verse: Lazy people say there’s a lion outside! I’ll be murdered in the streets! Pr. 23:13
Note: A Lazy person always finds a way to weasel out of work. I’ve got this hurt or that other obligation. Something always comes up to excuse them from contributing.
Note: This AM we’ve looked at the ROOT, the REALITY, the RESULTS, and the REMEDY for laziness. But ultimately it comes do to you. Do you want more out of life, out of work, out of your relationships – if so, then it requires an effort on your part. But to become the person you know God has called you, requires a supernatural transfusion.
Verse: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and discipline. 1 Tm. 1:7
Therefore be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord that you labor will not be in vain. 1 Cr. 15:52
