What is Slothful in Proverbs 24?
Below is a good article from my friend Kevin Swanson regarding laziness. We should seriously consider what Solomon is telling his children to beware of. Often times we "work hard" and don't see the spirit of laziness (slothful) as a spiritual battle that we, or our children struggle with. However, Solomon connects the fact that oversleeping is a severe symptom of slothfulness. Oversleeping is a habit that is easy to get into, and even easier to justify because of the busy world we live in, or because we worked late, or didn't plan well and had to get this done, or many other reasons that we use to justify slothfulness.
In working with many young men, we have observed that the 3 strongest battles for young men are lust, pride and sleep. These spiritual battles usually are connected and go together. In our soft-life society today, we have an extreme view of "protecting" children. Protecting children is a Biblical requirement, but Satan has taken us to such an extreme, that to many parents, protecting children is interpreted as not making them uncomfortable or not "being hard on them".
Today 99% of parents never establish a specific period of time to transition children to adulthood. Most parents leave for work in the morning without assigning schedules, duties or strict responsibilities for children. We go to great lengths to protect our teen age children physically and out of harms way, but leave them exposed to all types of spiritual attacks through internet, social media and idleness without purpose or vision. This worldview results in no standard in the home for early rising, demonstrating self discipline and initiative, displaying a strong work ethic, or developing specific purpose or responsibilities. Rather than requiring them to learn to be a provider and a contributor in the family economy by 12 years old as Jesus did. By 12 years old, Jesus spent 5 days on his own, taking care of his own needs, and was found in the temple with the teachers going about his father's business.
In today's soft, feminine worldview, no one gets hurt, which includes their feelings. When this worldview develops past 12 years old and into the teen years, it allows for young people to not have any real responsibility by even 18 - 25 years old. Let alone requiring young men and women to develop strong self discipline, a requirement to get up early in the morning on their own, to develop a strong work ethic and a strong sense of responsibility and purpose like Jesus did as a 12 year old. If you watch the trend in the spirit of slothfulness and "love of sleep" over the past 20 years, and then continue that cycle over the next 20 years, what does the vision, purpose and responsibility of the next 2 generations look like? No wonder God told Moses to teach them (the Law) diligently to your children AND your children's children.
We must realize that the physical battles manifest themselves in our spiritual life very quickly. Someone who is manifesting a sleepy habit probably is also "sleepy" in their study of God's Word because the physical and spiritual are inseparably linked.
What a Slothful Home Looks Like
By Kevin Swanson
Proverbs 24:30–34 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;
So shall your poverty come as one that travels; and your want as an armed man.
Wisdom starts with the revelation of God’s wisdom found in His Word. But another component of wisdom is obtained by observation. The wise father doesn’t drive past a home set in brambles and overgrown weeds and ignore the meaning of it. Rather, he considers carefully the world around him and interprets the data that he obtains by observation. When surveying the world around us, it is easy to miss the lessons it contains, but all of the scenes before us shout messages that, interpreted properly, yield good wisdom. It is for us to listen carefully for the messages, study the scenes, and interpret them in light of the Word of God.
Click here to read the full family devotional.
In working with many young men, we have observed that the 3 strongest battles for young men are lust, pride and sleep. These spiritual battles usually are connected and go together. In our soft-life society today, we have an extreme view of "protecting" children. Protecting children is a Biblical requirement, but Satan has taken us to such an extreme, that to many parents, protecting children is interpreted as not making them uncomfortable or not "being hard on them".
Today 99% of parents never establish a specific period of time to transition children to adulthood. Most parents leave for work in the morning without assigning schedules, duties or strict responsibilities for children. We go to great lengths to protect our teen age children physically and out of harms way, but leave them exposed to all types of spiritual attacks through internet, social media and idleness without purpose or vision. This worldview results in no standard in the home for early rising, demonstrating self discipline and initiative, displaying a strong work ethic, or developing specific purpose or responsibilities. Rather than requiring them to learn to be a provider and a contributor in the family economy by 12 years old as Jesus did. By 12 years old, Jesus spent 5 days on his own, taking care of his own needs, and was found in the temple with the teachers going about his father's business.
In today's soft, feminine worldview, no one gets hurt, which includes their feelings. When this worldview develops past 12 years old and into the teen years, it allows for young people to not have any real responsibility by even 18 - 25 years old. Let alone requiring young men and women to develop strong self discipline, a requirement to get up early in the morning on their own, to develop a strong work ethic and a strong sense of responsibility and purpose like Jesus did as a 12 year old. If you watch the trend in the spirit of slothfulness and "love of sleep" over the past 20 years, and then continue that cycle over the next 20 years, what does the vision, purpose and responsibility of the next 2 generations look like? No wonder God told Moses to teach them (the Law) diligently to your children AND your children's children.
We must realize that the physical battles manifest themselves in our spiritual life very quickly. Someone who is manifesting a sleepy habit probably is also "sleepy" in their study of God's Word because the physical and spiritual are inseparably linked.
What a Slothful Home Looks Like
By Kevin Swanson
Proverbs 24:30–34 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;
So shall your poverty come as one that travels; and your want as an armed man.
Wisdom starts with the revelation of God’s wisdom found in His Word. But another component of wisdom is obtained by observation. The wise father doesn’t drive past a home set in brambles and overgrown weeds and ignore the meaning of it. Rather, he considers carefully the world around him and interprets the data that he obtains by observation. When surveying the world around us, it is easy to miss the lessons it contains, but all of the scenes before us shout messages that, interpreted properly, yield good wisdom. It is for us to listen carefully for the messages, study the scenes, and interpret them in light of the Word of God.
Click here to read the full family devotional.