"All day long he is craving, while the righteous gives and does not hold back"
This proverb gives further insight into the sluggard’s mental process. The sluggard never reaches his potential and descends into a vat of selfishness through desire and wanting, without effort to move himself forward to acquire the thing.
It is a shame that through the lottery and certain aspects of television and the over-generosity of parents, we are creating a whole subculture of slothful sluggards who want but will not put out effort to make their dreams come true.
If you have dreams for the future and hopes of what will happen to you, then you need to begin disciplining yourself to make these things happen. Whether that is about saving money, getting a job, getting training, going after schooling, going on a diet, turning off the television, eliminating friends who keep you stuck in the same old bad habits, moving to a new place.
The sluggard has lots of desires. In fact, in this proverb Solomon says that they are filled with desires all day. But they fail to realize that a journey to a wonderful destination is filled with many small steps. It is not enough to just dream of making your life different; you must begin taking the steps to get there.
Notice that when Solomon wants to describe one of the major things wrong with the sluggard, he contrasts their way of acting with the actions of the righteous. The righteous, Solomon says, sees something that needs to be done and does it while the sluggard says, “What do I get out of it?” The sluggard holds back unless they can see immediate personal benefit.
Each day you and I will come across situations in which we can help or be generous or encourage or pitch in and there will be no obvious return for us. It is these generous acts that keep us moving forward and connect us to people we need to meet and give us skills that we need to have in order to accomplish the goals that God has for us. If everything you do is a transaction that must have personal tangible benefit, then you will not get very far toward your ultimate goals or an enjoyable life
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz