"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!'"
This verse describes the mental and verbal processing of the person who is lazy. This person invents problems that do not really exist. How likely is it that there will be a lion in the streets of a town specifically blocking your particular action? Not very likely.
Whenever any of us think about taking action in some new direction there will immediately spring to our minds all kinds of reasons, obstacles, and fears that will try and dissuade us from taking the action we really need to take. It is these fears, obstacles, and reasons that keep us locked in a lazy mode. We must realize that they are not real. We need to confront these unrealistic fears and move forward anyway. If we give in to all the things that we fear, then we never move on to great joy and blessing in life.
The person who has become expert at avoiding new action is a sluggard and has rehearsed all of their fears until they have become convinced that there are too many reasons to keep from trying new things. Don’t let this be you. Listen hard for the voice of God in new righteous actions. Do not give into the same old things and expect a different result in your life.
All of us have a little of the sluggard in us, but it must not be allowed to dominate our actions. This proverb really tells us that it is easy to invent problems that will consume us, so we should not even try what we are thinking about. The person who is lazy is always focused on the problems instead of the reward.
Any idiot can see a few problems and let those things stop you from pursing God’s will and blessing. It is a sure sign that laziness is creeping up on you when you invent problems because you really don't want to go to the trouble of trying...
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz