Hey beautiful people, I bet everyone is having a great Saturday morning so far. Here in Lagos, it rained and it just made me want to stay in bed all day and do nothing! Whenever it rains like this, I always joke around with my friends saying that this is staying at home weather. Especially if it’s on the weekends, then I absolutely don’t want to do anything. Which brings me to today’s topic, Laziness. All of us at some particular point in our lives have had some encounter with laziness, or is it just me? I can remember there were seasons in my life when there was “nothing for me to do” I was going to bed late and waking up late, I just used to hang around in my apartment and do nothing. I hadn’t yet discovered what my purpose was and I was jobless as well after college. So my laziness game went up to a 100.
Then the more I got closer to God, the more I figured that laziness/being idle wasn’t a part of His plan for my life or for anyone else’s. God has created each and every one of us with a unique gift and purpose, and it is our duty to find out what those gifts are, and use it to serve one another. Studying the book of Proverbs in the bible as well, opened up my eyes to see how God detests laziness and idleness. When the writer is telling the reader to go study the life of ants as they are one of the frailest creatures but yet so smart, then we should pay a closer look to this issue of laziness.
“An idle man is the devil’s playground”
This quote reminds me of the story of David in the bible. There was an instance when he was supposed to go fight war and for some reason that day he decided to stay and loiter about his home. Maybe his tummy was hurting, who knows? But we are not privy to the real reason he stayed home. Anyway, on his strolling around his palace (because he was a king), he came across this beautiful woman who was having her bath and whose name ironically was Bathsheba, maybe pun was intended (haha). So he got carried away by lusting after her and asked that she should be brought to him. His servants did just that and he slept with her, she also happened to be the wife of one of his friends. Only for her to get pregnant, (gosh!) and in order for her husband not to find out, David had him killed in battle. So King David’s idleness/laziness that day led him to not only commit adultery but also murder. Now I hope if you are the lazy/idle type, that it doesn't lead you this far.
There is always something for us to do, even in seasons of unemployment. There is always someone who needs a helping hand, look around your community for places where you can serve. Some people start serving in an organization and stumble upon their purpose. Instead of waiting for an opportunity to come to meet you, go out there and create that opportunity.
"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, so shall your poverty come like a prowler and your need like an armed man."Proverbs 24:33-34
Whenever I come across this passage of scripture found in Proverbs, I'm like omg! I can’t afford to be lazy! I want to leave a legacy behind for generations after me (God willing) and that requires hard work. I don’t want to be needy; neither do I want to be poor. If I am poor and needy, how do I help those who are actually in need? Those who really need the help? We must rise up and work on our craft so well, that we are ready to serve the people God has entrusted us with. People who have great influence today, such as Oprah (OWN TV), Indra Nooyi (CEO, Pepsico) Bill Gates (Microsoft), Jack Ma (Gosh I love his spirit) (Alibaba.com), and Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) -the list is endless, didn’t start off being great by being lazy. I believe that even as Christians, children of the Most High God, more is required of us. So other believers can look up to us and say “if he/she could get there, by being a believer as well, then I can make it”.
Let me end with the parable of the talents, I am going to be paraphrasing here. So there was this master who was going away on a long trip and decided to entrust his servants with some of his finances and see what they would make of it. So to one he gave five talents, to another he gave two and to the third he gave one talent, he gave them according to their ability. So the one, who had five, went and did some business with it and got five more, the one who had two, did the same and got four. The last one went and hid his one talent, so it wouldn’t be stolen or lost or whatever his reason was. When the master came back, all the servants presented him with their profits, except the last one. He was so mad at the last one that he said “you wicked and lazy servant (ouch!), you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I would have received back my own with interest” Matthew 25:26-27. So the master ordered for the one talent to be taken away from him and given to him who had ten talents. Meanwhile to those who doubled up on their investment, he said to them, “well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.”
So if we are busy waiting for that big break or that big opportunity, it may never come, until we make use of what opportunities we have right now.
Hope you are encouraged with this short post to start doing and stop being lazy if you are; there are people out there who are waiting for you to rise up and take your place. I love you all for reading, as usual, let me know how this write up inspired you. xoxo