Irons Upon Our Heels

Many in the older generation will remember Dagwood Bumstead. He was a cartoon character who also became the subject of a movie series. Dagwood was married to Blondie who kept him from self-destruction. The problem was that Dagwood liked to sleep late and was always late for work. He would rush through his toast and coffee for breakfast and dash out the door where his wife stood with his hat in hand. When Dagwood arrived at work he would sleep at his desk. He lived to snack and nap. The famous dagwood sandwich lives on in memory of those multi-layered sandwiches a foot high with everything in the refrigerator on them. Dagwood Bumstead was funny but the real-life problem he represented is not.

Laziness plagues us all. The dictionary says that it is that condition of not being willing to work or be active, idleness, a dislike of work. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Most of us don’t think of ourselves as being lazy. We know a lazy person when we see one, but he is not us. We work. We get things done. We don’t sit and watch TV all day long. But we flatter ourselves. The fact is, we are all lazy as a part of our sinful condition. It exists in each and every one of us, lurking in the caverns of our hearts at some level. It is possible to be busy and still be lazy. We can even be self-disciplined in one area of our lives, but lazy in other areas. It is necessary to understand sinfulness in order to come to grips with laziness. Sin is “any want of conformity unto or transgress of, the law of God” (Jas. 4:17). Laziness is a failing to use God’s gifts or to fulfill His calling. It is a manifestation of my sinful condition. It is not doing what I am supposed to do or failing to do the best I can do. Now we may be beginning to feel uncomfortable. But there is more. Are we lazy? Did we get up this morning when we should have? Have we started something and didn’t finish it? Did we receive a grade in school which did not reflect what we were able to do? Is my physical condition a poor one by choice? Do I have a habit which is hurting me which I know I need to break? Do I take the path of least resistance when I face a problem? Do I have a savings account and am I regularly contributing to it? Is there any hope? Can we change? Can the leg-irons of laziness be broken?

If laziness is to be overcome we must acknowledge it and the penalties it carries in life. What are some of these? It creates a limited and poor life (Prov. 6:9-10; 26:13). We say things like, “I’ve tried that but it doesn’t work.” “We just don’t have the time or the money right now.” How easily these words can fall from our mouths and pave the way for doing less than we should. Laziness doesn’t redeem the time (Prov. 26:14). Unfinished projects clutter our lives (Prov. 18:9; 10:26; 19:24; 24:30). Financial troubles plague us because we have not prepared for the future (Prov. 20:4). The pleasure of living the present moment comes back to haunt us. The misery and hardships of an unhappy marriage accumulate because we haven’t given ourselves to the work of love (Prov. 15:19). Apathy about the things that really matter creates dependency on others (Prov. 20:4), becoming a burden on others (Rom. 12:8-11; 1 Tim. 5:13), failure to grow and mature in the Christian life (Heb. 5:11; 6:12), and can result in the greatest waste of all, eternal loss (Matt. 25:26).

We will have to pray that the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened to recognize our accountability to God. The fight against the downward drag of slothfulness never ends. All Christians are responsible to God for what they do with their body, mind, and time (Rom. 12:1-2). And what is the motivation for this? The infinite mercies of God. All that God has done for us in Christ and the “expulsive power of a new affection” slays the dragon of indolence. The growth of love for God will move us to establish a routine which will make demands upon us (Prov. 6:6-11). We must search out and deal ruthlessly with the busyness that keeps us from doing what we ought to do. Does my daily routine reflect kingdom priorities? Are we developing our spiritual gifts (2 Tim. 1:6)? By the grace of God, attack the habits that need to be broken (e.g. overeating, undereating, overspending, wasteful spending, excessive television time, time consuming video games). We would do well to model our lives after genuine heroes (Heb. 6:12). The hall of faith is filled with worthy role models, as well as others in the body of Christ (Heb. 11, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley).

Christian, in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, journeyed from the City of Destruction to Mount Zion (the heavenly city). When he came to that place of the cross where the burden of sin rolled from his back into an empty tomb, he gave three leaps for joy, and went on his way singing. But his eye quickly turned to three men fast asleep, with fetters upon their heels. The name of one of these sleepers was Sloth. Christian tried to awake him and help him off with his irons. But Sloth said, “Yet a little more sleep.” So he lay down to sleep again, and Christian set out on his journey. The greatest waste of all for the unbeliever is to sleep through the opportunity to know God, then die, and suffer the pain of judgment for all eternity. For the child of God, the waste of time, money, and abilities is a sour musical note. When we see Christ will we lament that laziness kept us from having loved Him more?

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church