Inaction reaps what it sows!

Probing Proverbs 10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.

I remember when I first started playing guitar; my big brother Mark was one of the best. He was a lead guitarist for a band that later became famous, they moved to California, but he stayed because he was just a Senior in High School. He won every “battle” of the bands he entered, including solo guitar. I wanted to play like him…but I did not want to work like him. From the time I was 7 years old I could remember Mark practicing and practicing. He gave himself to learning that instrument and it shows to this day. 

I on the other hand started strong but became lazy…I carried my guitar everywhere, but did not work at learning to master it. I thought the little I knew would grow by itself! That is laziness. Anything of REAL value does not just happen. My laziness shows – today I can pluck a tune or two, but I am not a guitarist!

This is the second aspect of being lazy; we expect results to just happen.

For example: We think that because we can have the ability to have children, we will be parents and our children will grow up as good, sensible adults. Nothing is further from the truth. That kind of lazy thinking only proves that we know we can have sex…parenting is a lot of intentional action. The Scripture gives the formula for being a parent:

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

The picture the Scripture draws is one of Proactive, Intentional living. This does not mean have a 5 minute Bible study / lecture with your children everyday. It means interweaving the Truth of God’s Word into your life and sharing that with your Children. Every moment can be a life lesson moment. As examples:

I was driving Chris to school when he was nine. A woman at the intersection had a head on with another vehicle. She went through the windshield! After I made sure Chris was okay and gave a report to the police, instead of driving Chris straight to school, I pulled into a park and talked with Chris. I asked him why that woman was thrown through the windshield. He said because she was not wearing a seat belt. I then went on to explain to him how God’s Word is like a seat belt for our life. By keeping the Scriptures close to our heart, His Word will teach us how to live which will keep us safe, even when there is an unexpected accident.

When Chris was 10 and Zach was 5 we had a war going on at the house. Chris was constantly complaining that he had so many more chores then Zach did, and it was not fair. Dee came to me and said she was at the end of her rope; nothing she did stopped Chris. I went into my study and asked God for wisdom.

James 1:5  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

He keeps His promises, as I prayed an idea entered my mind. I went out to the dinner table and announced to Chris – for the next week he would be Zachariah. I would do Chris’s chores and he would only do what Zach had to do. As I was doing the dishes that night, Chris was dancing and singing that he did not have to do the dishes because he was Zachariah, he asked me if he could go play at Chuck’s house. I said no, because I did not have time to walk him across the street. He said. “Dad you taught me how to cross the street when I was 7.” I said “No, no, your Zachariah!” Later that evening I went downstairs to vacuum the family room…another chore of Chris’s…I found all my electrical items turned on. 

The CD player, the TV and the game center; I said, “Who told you, you could turn on Daddy’s electrical things?” Chris said “Dad you showed me how last year.” I said “No, no, your Zachariah!” He hated going to bed so early also, the next morning he knocked on my office door. When he came in he fell to his knees saying, “Please let me be Chris again, please let me be Chris again!” I then shared with him the biblical principle, “Much responsibility brings much freedom, little responsibility bring little bitty freedom!” Chris never wanted to be Zach again.

God desires to guide His people to be great parents, helping their children to grow into stable, loving and mature adults. If you become a student of God’s Word and live close to Him, the Holy Spirit will help you live Deuteronomy 6. If you lack wisdom, just ask and God will give.

If you choose to be a lazy Parent…or lazy about anything in life, be sure God’s Word will stand sure.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

There is one more aspect to laziness that we will look at next time.

For now ask yourself these questions: Am I putting in effort to live the life I am living, or do I expect it to just happen? What actions am I taking to impact my walk with the Lord, the direction of my life, my family, and my career?