23 A man who is shrewd conceals his knowledge, but the hearts of fools broadcast stupidity. 24  Hardworking hands will rule, but laziness results in forced labour. 25-26 Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but a good word brings him joy. A righteous person guides his neighbour, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. 27 A lazy person does not roast his game, but a diligent person uses his wealth wisely. 28 In the path of righteousness there is life, and there is no death in following this path. Proverbs 12:23-28 Evangelical Heritage Version

A Yorkshire comedian told his audience that he was a terribly lazy person and, pointing to his long beard, said “I don't actually want this beard.” He then invited all those in the audience who knew they were lazy also to put up their hands. More than half of them did so. He said “the rest of you probably just couldn't be bothered to put up your hand”. It was an amusing example of the light hearted attitude most of us have regarding laziness. But what do vs 24 & 27 tell us about the sad outcome that laziness can lead to?

Lazy people often end up at the bottom of the employment ladder, and their laziness robs them of good things. Imagine a hunter in those days being too lazy to bother roasting the game he had caught. The laziness here is not that desire to have an extra half hour in bed, but it's describing a whole attitude to life. It's an unwillingness to put in the hard work that leads to achievement and success. This is not a criticism of those of us who are not as strong or as clever as others. In his parable of a man who gave different amounts of money to his servants to use wisely until he returned, Jesus says that even the one who had less money, but used it constructively, was commended by the boss. It was only the one who was lazy that the boss condemned. Doing all we can with what little we have is the very opposite of laziness.

Part of being righteous is the desire to serve God to the best of our ability. Whether it's as a business person, a housewife, a husband, a mechanic or a missionary, our aim should be to do the best we can, to work hard and to work honestly so that Jesus will say to us “Well done my good and faithful servant – come and share now in the joy of your Lord” (From Matthew 25:14-30) And what do vs 25-26 & 28 show us about the good outcome of a righteous life?

A righteous person will be willing, and far more able, to give the sort of encouragement, helping-hand, and guidance to others than what lazy people have to offer. In fact, the advice of people who are to lazy to look after the welfare of their own soul is bound to be harmful to the people they share their 'knowledge' with. The words of such people point to a road that leads to death – the words of the righteous point out the way that leads to life. (vs 28). Which brings us back to vs 23 which is also about words. What do you think the lesson is there?

There is great wisdom in knowing when to speak and when to keep silent. Foolish people are often loud and boastful - even when their lives are lazy. But one can usually see through the emptiness of their bragging. Hard working people don't have to broadcast their achievements or all that they know – people can see for themselves that they have obviously used their 'talents' well.

But perhaps the best application we can make from today's words in Proverbs is to apply them to the state of our own soul before the Lord. We can drift into a state of lethargy when it comes to reading the Bible and being active in God's work. The writer to Hebrews was aware of this and said: “God is not unjust - He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We don't want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Hebrews 6:1-12) May God help us to be diligent in our commitment to Christ and to growing in Him.