“Tosin!” My father would shout as I tossed and turned in bed, having what many would call a lazy Saturday.
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep…” He would quote sternly. He’d never go on to the concluding part of that portion of scripture even as he interrupted my sweet sleep. Maybe it was because of the gravity of the next verse. He didn’t want to sound like he was cursing his child – but his quotation of Proverbs 6:10 was enough to knock sense into me.
I came across the concluding part of that portion of scripture in The Passion Translation (TPT) a while back and boy was I shocked!
“By making excuses you’ll learn what it means to go without. Poverty will pounce on you like a bandit and move in as your roommate for life.”
Wow! This is really something. I mean! God forbid and I forbid!
But as we know, the word of God is full of principles. In many of Jesus’s parables, he likened the Kingdom of God to a seed. What you reap is essentially the fruit of what you have sown.
We can pray, fast, declare, impose, reject and rebuke all we want. And while these have their place, they can never replace the principles that have been set in motion by God from eternity past.
If you sow laziness, you will reap poverty.
If you sow diligence, you will reap abundance.
These are the simple but profound principles of Proverbs 6:6-11.
Laziness has many brothers and cousins – over-sleeping, procrastinating, idleness, apathy, a life of excuses, and much more!
Honestly, we all need to look inwards and be truthful with ourselves on where we need to put in work and make adjustments.
Are you constantly tapping on the snooze button on your alarm? Do you find yourself dragging or lazing around till late into the morning and hiding under the excuse of not being a morning person (even though you don’t get any significant work done even at night)? Are you always late for appointments? Are you often disorganized, confused or disoriented?
Can you account for how you spend your minutes and hours? Do you plan your day ahead? How well do you do with scheduling? Do you have a goal/productivity journal? How do you track the progress you’re making on the goals you set at the beginning of the year? Are you just sitting down hoping that by some streak of luck, everything will sort of come together?
Transformation doesn’t happen by accident. Success doesn’t just happen either. You’ve heard it severally that success is a product of daily, consistent habits.
If you’re waiting to be motivated by some external force, you’re never really going to accomplish anything of worth and significance.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve drawn from the example of the diligent ants is that they are motivated by a compelling vision. That vision is the recognition of the fact that winter is in the horizon and there will come a time when they’ll be unable to gather food. It’s the vision of the kind of life they desire to have during the winter season. They recognize the importance of seizing the moment so that they can create the kind of future they desire. They understand the need to work now so that they can have plenty later.
The ants have no chief, no boss, no manager – no one has to tell them what to do. They are self-motivated and their motivation is propelled by their vision.
My coach always says that if you struggle with laziness and getting things done, it’s because you have not received a compelling vision for your life.
Your vision will keep you up late at night. It will wake you up early in the morning. It will supply the fuel you need to move from planning to execution so you can create the future you desire.
This is a good place to ask the Lord to show you His compelling vision for your life.
In my own life, I have found that lazy habits dropped off naturally and got replaced with productive ones the moment I captured God’s vision and purpose for my life. It was an automatic reset!
When you catch that vision, you won’t need any external motivation. No one will tell you to wake up an hour earlier or stay up two hours later. No one will tell you to immerse yourself in studying and preparing for your next level. No one will have to tell you to make that call, start that business, begin that blog or create that product.
You will simply find that you’re moving in the direction of destiny, purpose and abundance!
Vision is the most potent antidote to laziness.
Be like the ants. Catch your compelling vision and kick poverty in the behind!
What are some of the most important lessons you’re learning from Proverbs 6?