We’re tempted to think a lazy life is a satisfying life, but Jesus shows us something different

Proverbs 26:14

14 As a door turns on its hinges,

    so a sluggard turns on his bed

I love this picture of the sluggard – I think it’s one of my favourite proverbs. All day the lazy person rolls from one side of the bed to the other pointlessly. It’s not a picture of someone unwinding or resting after a big day or week; it’s the person who couldn’t be bothered to get up in the first place. They never go anywhere or do anything – just end their days turning in one spot, like a door blowing in the breeze. It’s ridiculous, and kind of grotesque.

Rest recharges and energises, but the sluggard has no energy to get out of bed – they’re trapped, the life sucked out of them. Laziness therefore is less about how busy you are in any given moment and more about selfishness. Lying in bed for the sluggard is selfish indulgence. It’s not having a care or concern about what’s going on outside your bed frame; having no energy to give to anyone or anything – beyond turning to the more comfy position on the mattress. It doesn’t seem like a satisfying life. It’s a stark contrast to Jesus, who knew what it meant to rest and recharge, but whose life was spent heading to the cross, to give himself up for us. When I stand back and think of those two pictures of life, it’s the life of Jesus that is the beautiful one, the satisfying one, the one I want to follow.

Head: How can you tell the difference between laziness and rest?

Heart: When does laziness feel like a good way of life and why?

Hands: What is a practical way you can give yourself in love for someone today? What’s a way you can spend some time resting today?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that Jesus cared for me and gave himself for me. Forgive me for the times I’ve lived to indulge only myself. By your Spirit I ask that you’d give me a heart to love and serve the people around me, in your Son’s name, Amen.

A song to listen to: Christ is Risen

Ryan Dehnert