Though, like all players, I was prone to it, I have always had a disdain for laziness. I hated it in myself, in my teammates, in the guys I coached, and even in the teams we competed against. Laziness is closely related to entitlement, the idea that I am owed something just for showing up and being talented. Only in the rarest of cases does a lazy, entitled player become a great player. Hard work and humility are required, contrary to what is often portrayed in today’s athletes.
Proverbs 18:9 puts it this way: “The one who is truly lazy in his work is a brother to a vandal” (HCSB). The note in my Bible tells me that the word “vandal” is literally rendered “master of destruction.” What an incredible word picture. Those who are truly lazy are in the same family with those who destroy lives, families, teams, and organizations. Laziness is everywhere and you and I, because of our sinful nature, are prone to it. We must recognize it, confess it to the Lord, commit to His kind of work ethic, and move past it.
What if God had been lazy in His work and not created the world to be “good?” What if Jesus had been lazy in His work and not gone through with the Cross? What if the early church had been lazy and slacked on spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth?
Laziness. Where is it in your life? Are you lazy spiritually? On the field? In the classroom? At work? In your relationships?
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for completing your work on the Cross! I praise you for your perfection and humble myself before you. Reveal to me the areas of laziness in my life. Apply your grace to them, changing me from the inside out, so that I may become the person you have called me to be, in every aspect of life. Give me your kind of work ethic as you live your life through me. Amen.
