Proverbs 22:13
The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!”
He does have a point. We may not worry about lions, but there are cars and trucks that could hit us. It may be best not to go outside to work. And, for that matter, there are dangers in the home – tripping down the stairs, stumbling over shoes or stepping on a ball. It may be best to remain in bed. Too bad the sluggard in Solomon’s day did not have TV and a remote. Today’s sluggard does not even have to come up with excuses for not doing work. The distraction of 24 hour television with literally hundreds of channels saves him from having to think up rationalizations for lying in bed or the couch. He can get by with the dull thought of “I’ll get up in just a minute.”
Peter tells us that there is actually a lion out there ready to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). The problem is that he is also within our home, even within our room, even under the bedcovers! Whatever imaginary lions the sluggard has to keep him from doing something with his life, he should be taking into account this very real lion – Satan – who is devouring his very soul. Inactivity is a killer of the soul; for we were made to act, to produce, to glorify our Maker through being makers in his image.
Whether healthy or ill; whether bold or timid, do whatever God has given you the ability to do that he might be glorified. Who knows, maybe today you will meet a lion in the streets and slay him!
Psalm 65
Praise awaitsb] you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgavec] our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.