The Importance of Diligence and Hard Work

If you were to go up and down the street and people you meet, you say, I'd like you to give me a list of the ten worst sins that people commit, you know, the word laziness would not be on any of those lists, I'm quite sure. And if you confronted them and said, you know, laziness is one of the ten of the seven deadly sins, they would probably think, well, that's not really a sin. It's just a bad characteristic that people have. Some people are lazy and some people are industrious. But through the history of the church, this list of the seven deadly sins focuses on all of these that we're talking about, and today we want to talk about sloth, or what we would normally call being lazy, not being diligent in doing what you're supposed to do. The Bible deals with these words not as often as some of the other sins that we're going to talk about. In fact, there are only 17 times in the Bible in which the word sloth or laziness is actually used. It's used quite differently in the Old Testament than it is in the New Testament, which is true of most of these sins. The Old Testament looks a little bit more at the external side of a person. The New Testament looks a little bit more at the internal or spiritual side of a person. So there's a difference in the way God treats these. But you may not think that industry or hard work is very important to God, but from the very beginning, God has made it clear that man's creation and his placing here on earth is a very important part of what he's trying to do. In the story of creation, the Lord made the Garden of Eden, everything that was there, and then in chapter 2 of the book of Genesis, this one verse, the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work, to work it, and to take care of it. Now notice this, the Lord creates the Garden of Eden, he creates man, and the very first thing he does is to say to him, I want you to work this garden, take care of it, make sure that it's everything that it needs to be. A part of the creation story, that people were placed here on this earth to work. This is not necessarily an unusual idea, but I don't think we often connect it with the fact that it is God's purpose in this world for all people to work. The very first human being that came on the scene, the first thing he was assigned to do was not go to church, but to work, to take care of what God had trusted to his hands. Now in the book of, in the Old Testament, of the 14 references in the Old Testament to work or to zeal or to laziness, of the 14, 14 of those are found in the Proverbs. Proverbs are a very practical book. One time I was using the book of Proverbs for a study on Wednesday night, and a man that I'd met was talking to me, and I told him that, and he said, I want to come and hear that. So he came on Wednesday night, and after it was over he said, well this is just practical, everyday good common sense. I don't think I need that, I know these things. Well, you may know them, but they're included in the book of Proverbs because God wants us to understand something. We have good common sense because God has made us able to have it. And what is good common sense for everyone in the world, whether they're followers of Christ or not, this is God's will. It is God's will. And so you find over and over again in the book of Proverbs it addresses the common industry or work of ordinary people, as it was a part of God's plan. Now the plan that God has is for everybody, whether you're a follower of him or not. For example, the law of gravity, if you get up on a five-story building and you jump off, God doesn't ask, are you a follower of mine or are you not a follower of mine? The same thing's going to happen to either one. The law of gravity is going to work. You will fall down just as fast as the other guy and you'll hit the ground just as hard as the other person. There are laws in this world that God has made for all mankind, those who are followers of him and those who are not, that he expects all of us to live and obey. But if we're followers of God, these special rules become very important to us because he's our Lord. So in the Proverbs, God is telling to the people of Israel, here are the things I want you to do. They're good for everyone in the world, but they are especially good for you because you tell me that I am your Lord and these are the commands that I give you. So when you turn to the book of Proverbs, you find over and over again that God is relaying to them what sometimes seems to us simply common sense or good business or good behavior, but to God they are the explanation of his rules about how he wants us to live. So I'm going to read some of these Proverbs and I want you to see how God announces or proclaims the importance of working hard and being diligent at the work that we have to do. I'm going to start with Proverbs chapter 15, verse 19. The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. This proverb simply indicates to us that God has provided for every human being in the world a simple idea. If you are lazy, that's what the word sluggard means, if you are lazy you'll find your road or your path in life filled with briar bushes. I don't know if you've ever been where they have a lot of briars, stickers, you have to walk through the place where they are. It's a terrible, difficult, terribly difficult thing to do. Walking through with a blueberry patch where we used to have in Arkansas, they'd stick you on every single turn, you couldn't hardly turn any way that you didn't get stuck. Life for the person who's lazy will be that way, one problem after another. But he says the person who is upright, that is righteous, he does what God made him to do, that is to work hard and not be lazy, he will find life to be like an open highway or path with no obstacles in the way. God's principle for the world is, I want you to work and whenever you work, you will find that it makes your life easier, when you don't, you will find it to be difficult. Now the context of the book of Proverbs is given to the Hebrew people. Whenever God settled them in the promised land, he gave every single one of them a piece of ground that was theirs. Their house, their land was theirs. Their responsibility was to plant the seeds on that ground, cultivate the ground and make sure that their crops would grow. So when he's talking about in the book of Proverbs, this principle, he's talking about that setting. You have a piece of ground and if you're lazy and you don't get out there and till the ground, you don't get out there and pull the weeds out of your crop, you don't get out there and plant the seed, you're going to find yourself in trouble day after day. But if you will work hard on the ground that I've given you, you will have life far more comfortably. I have provided that for you. The general principle, whatever you have in your garden, if you don't plant it right and you don't take care of it, it won't make you anything. That's his point. Hard work will provide a means whereby you'll be able to live. In chapter 19 of the book of Proverbs, verse 15, he's describing how the impact of laziness affects all of us. Laziness brings on deep sleep and the shiftless man goes hungry. Laziness brings on deep sleep and the shiftless man goes hungry. Now, this might seem simple to you, but it's true. God's principle is this, I've given you land, you work hard on it, you'll have something to eat. If you do not work hard on it, you will not have something to eat. It's a consequence. If you jump off the five-story building, the consequence is you're going to hit the ground pretty hard. If you don't work hard, the consequence is you're going to be hungry. In the New Testament, when Paul was writing to one of the churches, he said to them, the churches were protecting each other. Like whenever a person would join the church, oftentimes their community, Jewish community, would turn against them and they wouldn't help them. They didn't have any help or support. So the local church then would make sure that that family would have financial support. So Paul wrote to them and said, now be careful, the person who doesn't work shouldn't eat. He was announcing this principle of the Old Testament. If you don't work or you're lazy and you sleep all the time, that is, ignore the work, you'll go hungry. The shiftless man goes hungry. The consequence for laziness is hunger. So the hunger then forces someone to say, I can't sit here and do nothing or I'm going to starve to death. One of the principles, like jumping off the roof, hitting the ground, the lazy person who doesn't work will be hungry and it's God's way of driving them to work hard. You'll find in the places where people are starving to death and they don't have anything and there's nothing to fall back on, they get out early in the morning and range all over the countryside trying to find just a little something to eat. From morning till night they will roam trying to find something to eat because they know if they don't they will die. That is God's universal principle to everyone. We shouldn't try to interfere with that for it's inevitable that this is what God really wants to do. God told Adam, take care of the garden, you'll have the fruit to eat. You don't take care of it and do it right, you won't have it. It's a principle he's given to everyone who comes into the world. And then in Proverbs chapter 18 verse 25, he describes what happens to the person who is lazy. The lazy person or the sluggards craving will be death to him. In other words, what does a lazy person crave? To lay down, watch TV all day long, take a nap all the time. That craving for satisfying your laziness will bring death to him. That's why this is seen as one of the seven deadly sins. If you live in a world where there's no one to help you and you don't take care of yourself and you don't earn your living, you don't do the things that are necessary like the Hebrews had to do to raise their crops around their house, you will die. So when he craves laziness, it's death to him because his hands refuse to work. The death penalty is the end result of laziness to the Hebrew people. They had information from God, if there's someone among you who's not willing to work his land, don't step in and intervene. For the laziness of his life will cause him to starve. And when he's hungry enough, he'll go out and go to work. Verse 13 of chapter 21, chapter 22, excuse me. The sluggards said, there's a lion outside or I will murder, I'll be murdered in the street. In the Proverbs that this proverb is given. And his point he's making is, a lazy person will find all kinds of reasons in the world not to work. You go by their house and he's laying in the bed and you say, hey, what's wrong, bud? Why aren't you out there working in your fields? Your crops look kind of bad. He says, well, I was afraid to get out this morning, afraid the lion would attack me when I got out the door. Well, you can think of anything. Or you can say, I was afraid somebody would come along and murder me. Lazy people always have an excuse for not working. And that excuse, the proverb saying, is in conflict with the will and purpose of God for their lives. So in the Old Testament, God gives us a clear example that laziness or slothfulness is contrary to God's will for all human beings. It is built into the structure of human life that if you do not work, you will not be able to live. That principle is true for everyone. But especially in the Proverbs, given in the Scriptures, it becomes not only good common sense, but it becomes a command of God. As much a command of God that we work hard at the jobs that we've been given as any other commandment in the Scriptures. All of the Ten Commandments take no precedence over any other command given in the Scripture. What God expects of us is when we have a job to do, that we be the best worker there. Because we don't just work for our boss. We work for God. And He has given us that job. If you're living in obedience to Him, and you've asked for His direction, and He gives you a job at a place, this is God's assignment for you. You are to be there, and of all the workers that are there, people are to look at you and see that you do the hardest work and the best work that you can. That's our witness that we are living by the principles of God established from the very beginning of all creation. Adam, here is your place to live, and this is your job. Take care of this garden. Make sure you do it well. Now, here it is. This is my job. Make sure you do it well, and make sure you do your very best. And then, all that you need will be provided for you. God rarely ever will intervene in the life of a lazy person and provide what they need. And when we try to help people that are doing that, we simply postpone the inevitable. Because if you do not work, you do not eat. And if you do not work, it will kill you. God's plan is very simple for human beings, all human beings all over the world, and specifically for us who are his followers. But in the New Testament, the idea of slothfulness as a work ethic is hardly mentioned at all. In fact, something entirely different is shown. Not simply the physical work that everyone in the world does, for the New Testament is focused primarily on those who are followers of Christ. For the books are written to those who are followers of Christ, those who are in the churches, and those works are focused on the spiritual dimension of a person's life. Jesus took this same word that was used in the Old Testament in Matthew to describe a parable that is very well known to all of us, the parable of the man who had a farm or a business, and he was leaving for a while. He wanted to make sure that it was taken care of, and so he called his workers together and he told them, I'm going to be gone for a while, but I need you to carry on my business. And he gave each of them, he apparently was in some kind of investment business, he said, I've given each of you some money. And the scripture calls the word talent, we often think of it as our word talent, but it's really an amount of money. We might say $5,000 for the one talent. So he's given one man five talents, which would be like $25,000. He said, now I want you to take this and I want you to use it, invest it, and when I come back I'll see if you report to me. So he gave one man five of those talents, he gave another man two of them, and he gave another man one. He went away for a long time, and finally he came back. He asked each of his servants to come now and report to him what they'd done. Now get this, Jesus is talking about this business deal, but he's really referencing the kingdom of God, like it was a business. So when he talks about the king, the owner, going away, he's talking about God who leaves things in the hands of his followers, like Jesus is going to leave things in the hands of his disciples. When he's talking about the talents, he's not talking about money or your ability or skill to do things, he's talking about the spiritual assignment that you have to advance the kingdom of God. This man wanted his investment business to grow, so he'd have more money invested when he got back than when he left. Jesus is going to say to his disciples, I want you to work in the kingdom of God so that when I leave, there'll be few of you who are working, and then sometime in the future, there'll be more of you who are working for me. I want my kingdom to grow. That's what he's really talking about here. So when he comes back, the owner of the business brings these people together. The man who has five talents comes and says, you know, I've had a good time when you were gone. You gave me five of these talents, $25,000, now I have 50,000. The guy with two talents, he said, you know, you gave me 10,000 when I was here, now I give you 20,000. Then the last man came. He said, Lord, I knew you're a tough cookie. You're a guy who demands things of people, and I was scared to death that I'd lose your $5,000. So what I did was I went out and dug a hole in the ground, and I buried all your money so you wouldn't lose it. And I went out now and dug it up, and here it is, now I give it to you. The master replied, you wicked, lazy servant. Chapter 25 of Matthew, verse 26. The master replied, you wicked, lazy servant. Here's what he calls him, wicked and lazy, slothful. There's that word. He accuses this man of being slothful or lazy, one of the seven deadly sins. So you knew that I harvested where I had not sown and gathered where I had not scattered seed. Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with a banker so that when I returned I would have received it with interest. If you knew I demanded something of you, you should have made that the guide for your life to provide for it. Take the talent from him, give it to the one who has 10 talents, for everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even that what he has will be taken from him. Verse 30. And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The description of the sentence that he gives to this servant was to say to that servant, you really are not my servant. Because if you cared about my business, you would have made sure that it prospered. Now he's talking here about people who are in churches. So you've come and said I give my life to you, Lord. What have you done for me? Because of your life has anyone else come to know Christ? Because of your life has my kingdom grown? Or did you come and say, okay, now that I'm safe and going to heaven, I can sit down and relax and just watch? What did you do? Notice what he says. Take this servant and throw him out. Throw him out into hell. What he's saying about the servant is this man really was not my servant. He had no concern for my business, no concern for the advancement of what I was doing and what Jesus is implying is. So you've come to say you're a part of my kingdom and you've never done anything to expand it? You can't be my servant. For if I was your Lord and your ruler, you would be working to expand the kingdom of God. Now he talks about this with the man who had the least amount of money. We could say the least amount of skill or abilities. So he's saying that there is not anyone in the kingdom of God who will not be required to be accountable for whether or not they have expanded the kingdom of God. What is it that every single person in the world can do? You go around with people tomorrow, today, and you watch them. You see the people you work with and you see those whose lives are broken and damaged, whose lives are in a mess. You hear their stories and you shake your head and say, boy, what a problem that person has. You know what God is saying to you? This person is outside my kingdom. Now what are you going to do about it? You know what he wants you to do? Is to write that name down and every day pray for that person. Pray as you go to work, pray as you go back from work, get on your knees and implore God to let that person know their need for something more than what they're doing. And he wants you to listen to them. And when they start telling you all the things that have happened in their lives, you can find something in your own life where God has changed you. And he wants you to say to them, I can't do anything for you, but I tell you what happened to me. There's the problems I had been my life. And when I said to God, I give my life to you, he took my life and he changed things for me. That's what he wants you to tell them. So they will know that the king can change them. That's how the kingdom of God advances. Now the Bible does not say if you work hard at Christian work, you will earn heaven. It doesn't say that. What it says is, if I am in control of your life, this is what you will do. And if you don't do these things, then I am not in control of your life. You are. You know who's in control of a lazy person's life? That person. They don't listen to what the boss tells them. They don't listen to what the clock says. They don't listen to what people tell them. They just say, what do I want to do today? Oh, I'll stay home and watch TV. Rest. They don't ask God, what do you want me to do? They listen to themselves. So this man knew that the person who claimed to be a worker in his business really wasn't concerned about his business. He was only concerned about what he wanted. And it was clear to him, then, that the guy needed to be fired. Bad enough to be fired. But for us, in the kingdom of God, to be thrown out as a worthless servant. If you're a worthless servant, you're not even a servant. Into darkness, the blackness of sin, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I think a lot of people think if I come to the front and say a few words and pray a prayer and get into baptismal waters, I'm home safe. No, that's not the truth. For if you did it for your own reason, instead of an obedience to God, it didn't mean anything. This servant was worthless, so he wasn't a servant. And when someone gives their life to God, if their life does not reflect what God wants, he's a worthless servant of God. Not a servant at all, but will be thrown away into hell. Laziness.