Okay... sometimes I really get too lazy when I'm at work. I end up daydreaming or playing an online game addiction instead of facing the task at hand.
So to help me, I collected some verses from Proverbs. I post them here to serve me as inspiration, as a net for casting a vision, as a through-line setting a goal, or as a cheerleading squad. I know I'll need this sooner or later.
I'm posting the list here so I can just glance at it instead of leafing through my notebook where I wrote these down.
The Proverbs on diligence
A wise youth harvests in the summer,
but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.
Lazy people irritate their employers,
like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
A hard worker has plenty of food,
but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.
Wise words bring many benefits,
and hard work brings rewards.
Work hard and become a leader;
be lazy and become a slave.
Lazy people don't even cook the game they catch,
but the diligent make use of everything they find.
Lazy people want much but get little,
but those who work hard will prosper.
Work brings profit,
but mere talk leads to poverty!
A lazy person's way is blocked with briers,
but the path of the upright is an open highway.
A lazy person is as bad as
someone who destroys things.
Lazy people take food in their hand
but don't even lift it to their mouth.
Those too lazy to plow in the right season
will have no food at the harvest.
If you love sleep, you will end in poverty.
Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!
Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity,
but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin,
for their hands refuse to work.
Some people are always greedy for more,
but the godly love to give!
he lazy person claims, "There's a lion out there!
If I go outside, I might be killed!"
Do you see any truly competent workers?
They will serve kings
rather than working for ordinary people.
I walked by the field of a lazy person,
the vineyard of one with no common sense.
I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
It was covered with weeds,
and its walls were broken down.
Then, as I looked and thought about it,
I learned this lesson:
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
A hard worker has plenty of food,
but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.
Okay, here's my plan. If I need a break either because laziness sets in, or I'm genuinely tired, I look at this list, grab one, and meditate on it. May God's Word do its work in me.
