“I went by the field of the lazy man and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding, and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, so shall your poverty come like a prowler and your need like an armed man” (Proverbs 24:30-34).
The folly of laziness is always found in the blindness it inflicts.
The lazy man believes he is cleverly and covertly cheating others, when the one he is hurting most is himself (Ecc. 4:5).
The lazy man believes his foolish excuses for not being diligent and industrious (v. 33) will not harm him. Yet, they always do—it is his vineyard which gets overgrown with thorns, his field gets covered with nettles, his stone wall dissolves in disrepair. Like an unexpected thief, laziness slowly robs and bankrupts, imprisoning the lazy in abject poverty.
Spiritually speaking, the script is exactly the same. The lazy slave of Matthew 25 did not fool his master in any way. His lord identified him as a “wicked and lazy servant” whose excuses did not pass muster (vv. 26-28). His bankruptcy was total: all he had been given was taken from him and given to another, then he was cast into outer darkness (vv. 29-30).
Beware of the folly of laziness.
