DAY 253

SLUGGARD

Proverbs 6 & 7 and 2 Corinthians 2

“Throughout the Book of Proverbs the sluggard is a figure of fun.” (from John Stott)

·         He is too drowsy to get up in the morning (6:9-11), and later you will read that:

·         He gives the ludicrous excuse that there is a lion outside in the street (22:13, 26:13).

·         He is so lazy that he allows his fields and vineyards to become completely overgrown with weeds (24:30-31).

·         When he “buries his hand in a dish” he lacks the energy to bring it back to his mouth (19:24, 26:15)

Scripture assures us that we are not animals, but humans created in the image of God. Yet whenever we behave as if we are governed by animal instincts that are wrong for humans, or worse when animals manage to do by instinct what we should, but fail to do, by choice…we find that the Scripture rebukes us.  Consider the ant as compared to the sluggard (6:6) – “Go the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!”

Besides the fact that they can lift 50-100x their weight, ants are as old as dinosaurs, have survived extinction, and are found across almost the entire globe. While there are 7 billion of us…that is 7 with 6 zero’s, there are 10 with 15 zero’s of them, ants, in the world. Here is a link about ants: http://io9.com/5880539/10-frightening-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-ants

They have a highly organized community life, yet have no leader (v.7) and they do not practice slavery. Some ants are carnivores, but others are harvesters and store food. These type of ants are in found in Palestine (v.8).

Ants, not created in the image of God, and yet their Creator has endowed them with amazing ability…how much more are we, created in the image of God, capable of, if only we seek Wisdom.