Let's suppose a situation of Satan posing a question to subordinates and promises to award a prize to one who gives the correct answer. The question is as follows: "How can we lead many Christians to Hell?"
A subordinate named 'Speculation' says, "It is possible if we persuade them saying there is no God based on speculation." Another subordinate 'Doubt' suggests, "If we show the righteous in sufferings and the unrighteous are well-off, Christians will leave their faith behind."
Now the other subordinate 'Sloth' says, "Sloth is the simplest way to make Christians go to Hell. Just say, 'Do not make haste. You do not have to hurry up'."
Whose idea do you think is chosen?
A sluggard expects a better result than what he has sown. He wants it without toil. Though he desires to get things, he wants to get them for nothing without having to work and though he has desires, he strays from the right path, tries tricks, or just hopes for luck.
Proverbs 26:15 says, "The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is weary of bringing it to his mouth again." A sluggard does not eat although there is food in front of him.
A spiritual sluggard has lukewarm faith since he does not act in the Word of God although he listens to it.
By delving into the two characteristics of sloth, let's stop being lazy and change our hearts diligently with the Word of God which is the truth.
1. "Stop resorting to excuses"
Proverbs 22:13 reads, "The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!'" As recorded, sluggards usually resort to excuses for their sloth and laziness. In this way there are Christians who do not obey the Word of God by offering excuse after excuse.
Hearing that they have to evangelize people, they might say, "I do not know how to do it," "I am too shy to do it," or "I don't know anybody who I can lead to church". If asked to take charge of a God-given duty and work faithfully, they make the excuse of lacking the ability. With just the desire to obey, you can do it. If you do not know how to do whatever it is, you can ask others how to do it. If you think you are not wise enough or not capable of fulfilling the work, you can receive wisdom and strength from God by asking! But many people just offer excuses without obeying. They just ascribe their rejection to the environment or pass responsibility off to other people. They may become distressed or lose heart. They should not complain, express discontent or even expect others to help them. They must just do their best to obey.
Proverbs 20:4 reads, "The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, so he begs during the harvest and has nothing." As said, a lazy man cannot help but be hungry both in fleshly sense and spiritual sense. He will 'hunger' at the time of the last judgment if he is lazy in cultivating his heart. In other words, he will be uncertain about salvation as well as have no reward in Heaven. Thus, we need to cultivate our heart-field diligently by praying fervently and turning it into good soil. By doing so, we will be able to meet the Lord joyfully when He comes again to take us home.
If it seems just too difficult to cast away every form of evil, what do we have to do? You should not attribute your laziness to your family background or on your social, economic or other environmental situation. You shouldn't feel distressed, but instead, you just have to admit your shortcomings and pray to cast them away starting from something small. Then, we can move on to achieve rapid spiritual growth.
2. "Stop being content with the status quo"
Proverbs 26:14 says, "As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed." Just as the door fixed on its hinges moves in its limit, the sluggard who seeks comfort idly tosses and turns on his bed. A lazy man does only what he has done before in an undemanding way. He lives a life without laying aside the former manner of unambitiousness and without trying to push ahead for a better life.
Matthew 11:12 reads, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." To take a better dwelling place in Heaven, we must take it by force. If you stop trying to take it by force at some point your faith cannot continue to grow up. With force you have to demolish self-righteousness, self-frameworks, all speculations, and fleshly thoughts by means of the Word of God which is the truth. Some people, however, just hold what currently seems good to them and what is beneficial for them, so they cannot experience spiritual growth.
A spiritually lazy man passes judgment and condemnation on others in his self-righteousness and self-frame work that he has made with what he has learned. He gives hard times to others. He also has hard time or he shrinks away when others try to teach him and give him advice. Even if he has been a Christian for a long time, if he is content with the status quo without any development, he will become like stagnant water that is bound to corrupt.
Such people are not being content in humbleness, but in sloth. So, it causes many kinds of problems as the time passes. We are supposed to move forward to a better dwelling place in the eternal Heaven, but if you are stuck in the middle without spiritual growth, it indicates backsliding in faith.
In order to grow up in spirit, we must not be content with the abilities that we have acquired through experience and repeated deeds during the course of our Christian lives. Only when you fulfill your duty together with continuous circumcision of the heart can you demonstrate spiritual authority and perform the manifestation of miracles. Therefore, I hope that you will bear abundant fruit by stopping being lazy! Cultivate your heart and achieve a good and beautiful heart.
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