“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Pro. 10:5).

This is one of the more colorful of numerous colorful verses in the book of Proverbs which rebuke the sin of laziness. Note a few of the others:

• “As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.” (Pro. 26:14)
• “The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns” (Pro. 15:19).
• “A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again” (Pro. 19:24).
• “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour” (Pro. 21:25).
• “The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets” (Pro. 22:13).
• “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: . . . How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? . . . Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man” (Pro. 6:6, 9-11).
• “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him” (Pro. 10:26).
• “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing” (Pro. 20:4).

The inspired writer of Proverbs had little sympathy for lazy people and their self-induced troubles! Carefully crafted figures of speech were meant to shame them into action.

In the New Testament, one of the seven sins the Lord says are worthy of putting a man out of the fellowship is not working and going about as a busybody (2 Thess. 3:11-14).

Indolence is a distressing characteristic in anyone, but it is inexcusable in a Christian. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire. . . . That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:10-12).

(copied and adapted)