Laziness

  I passed by the field of a sluggard, by
the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-34 ESV

Ancient Israel was an agrarian society. All but the poorest had their own plot of land- their field or vineyard. Nowadays the equivalent for our largely urban existences would be a garden.

I find this proverb rather convicting, because I'm not the best gardener. I cut the grass, eventually. And I occasionally cut back the overgrown foliage of the borders. But that's about it, apart from a rare attempt to plant flowers.

I wouldn't say I'm especially lazy. I would however admit to loving my beauty sleep probably more than I should. But this is the
problem, sluggardly people are always making excuses. Just "a little"- a snooze, a rest, forty
winks, a cat nap.

The more we sleep, as a general rule, the more sluggardly we get. And sleeping doesn't pay the bills or do the gardening and housework. So we end up living in a mess of a place that we can't afford.

"Our Master and Maker, forbid that we should be sluggardly, and forgive us when we are. We ask that You would train us to be self disciplined and diligent in our lives. For Your honour, amen"