Lazy.

"Laziness is often mistaken for patience."

-French Proverb

"A lazy boy and a warm bed are difficult to part."

-Danish Proverb

"The less I have to do, the less time I find to do it in."

-Anonymous

"Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains."

-M. Hale

"The lazier a man is the more he plans to do tomorrow."

-Anonymous

"I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one lacking sense. I saw that it was overgrown with thorns. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--and poverty will pounce upon you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."

-Proverbs 24:30-34 NLT

The average American would drive his car to the bathroom if the doors were wide enough! Proverbs bombards laziness. Look at these "lazy" proverbs:

"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hand to rest--and poverty will pounce upon you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber" (Proverbs 6:6-11). Sound familiar?

"Lazy people are a pain to their employer. They are like smoke in the eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge" (Proverbs 10:26).

"Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave" (Proverbs 12:24).

"Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied" (Proverbs 13:4).

"Some people are so lazy that they won't even lift a finger to feed themselves" (Proverbs 19:24).

"The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, 'If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed" (Proverbs 22:13)!

"The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, 'I can't go outside because there might be a lion on the road! Yes, I'm sure there's a lion out there!'

"As a door turns back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in his bed.

"Some people are so lazy that they won't lift a finger to feed themselves.

"Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors" (Proverbs 26:13-16).

Even the apostle Paul in Romans 12:11 says about laziness, "Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." And in his letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul reminder is strong, "Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and doesn't follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard all day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you. It wasn't that we didn't have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'Whoever does not work should not eat'" (2 Thessalonians 3:6-10).

I'm not sure much commentary can be added to that. It's all quite clear that laziness and serving Christ can not go hand-in-hand. Sure, we need rest and we need it on a regular basis but let's not allow our rest to become laziness.

Too often we do only what needs to be done . . . just enough to get by. According to Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus tells us, among other things, to be "Second-milers."

Let's go for it . . .

again!