“The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor” (Proverbs 21:25).
The deadly root cause of laziness is not poverty, or a lack of energy, good health or talent. It is a lack of will power to work. The only possible way to consistently get work done by a lazy man is through force (Prov. 12:24). This is plainly evident when a man—because of laziness—will not even do something that is eminently in his best interest (like feeding himself—Prov. 19:24; 26:15).
Unlike the vigorously active, self-motivated, self-disciplined ant (Prov. 6:6-11), the lazy sluggard’s most strenuous exercise in a day may be the repeated rolling over in his bed that he does (Prov. 26:14). Even his desire and instinct for self-preservation does not motivate him to stop making wild, inane excuses (Prov. 22:13; 26:13). No one can convince him otherwise, because “The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly” (Prov. 26:16).
Humanity was created to work (Gen. 2:15). This expectation did not change after sin entered human history; instead, its necessity and difficulty increased (Gen. 3:17-19). Physically and spiritually lazy people are cursed by God (2 Thes. 3:101-5; 1 Tim. 5:8; Mat. 25:26, 30).
