“Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
Let’s admit it—we all have days when we just want to sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing. We surf through streaming services, binge our favorite shows or movies, or fall into the black hole that is TikTok.
That's fine for, like, a day here and there. Rest and sleep are important. Self-care is important. But if this is the mindset that we have every day, that may be evidence of a problem with laziness.
Refusing to do schoolwork, neglecting chores, turning away from helping others—basically a disregard of responsibilities—can all be due to an attitude of laziness.
Work Ethic vs. Laziness
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
Ants work hard, and the Bible says we should too (Proverbs 6:6). As Christians, we're to have a good work ethic, working at whatever we're doing as if we're serving the Lord Himself (Colossians 3:23-24). This leaves no excuse for choosing to be lazy.
Proverbs has a wealth of things to say about laziness:
Laziness makes excuses (Proverbs 26:13).
Being lazy wastes time (Proverbs 18:9).
Those who are lazy hate to work (Proverbs 21:25).
Lazy people love to stay in their beds, going nowhere (Proverbs 26:14).
They often consider themselves wise when they're actually not (Proverbs 26:16).
Choosing laziness risks our future—especially financially (Proverbs 13:4, 11).
Laziness isn't part of God’s plan for our lives. It makes sense, right? If we spend all our time making excuses, wasting opportunities, sleeping the day away, and refusing to work, then it's unlikely anything good is going to happen for us.
A Lifestyle of Lazy
“Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
A lifestyle of regular laziness doesn't glorify God. Sometimes believers assume that once they're saved, they don't have to do anything else. They might think, "I'm saved so I've got my golden ticket to Heaven. Now I can just do whatever I want."
This mentality shouldn't be a part of any believer's life philosophy. We shouldn't use God’s gift of salvation as an excuse to be idle. We were created to care for others, be good stewards of our resources, and to serve God with our hearts, minds, and time (Galatians 5:13; John 12:36)—not to be an unmoving lump on the bed.
A Lifestyle of Spiritual Fruit
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit is a natural part of our Christian journey (Ephesians 2:10). While our good works don’t save us (Ephesians 2:8-9), our good works are a proof of our transformation through the Spirit and becoming a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Followers of Christ ought to live wisely, make the best use of their time, and understand God's will (Ephesians 5:15-17). Jesus died, was buried, and came back to life for US. Our response to His sacrifice ought to be living a holy life that honors Him. Laziness robs us of the joyful life God has called us to live.
When we're working, serving, and expressing love to others, we have an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the world and people around us—and God sees that (Hebrews 6:10). Even if we feel like nobody cares about our hard work, we can still be encouraged that God sees our work (Galatians 6:9-10). Nothing we do for God is ever pointless (1 Corinthians 15:58).