By Anne Anjao-Eboi

Whenever I would read scripture that dealt with a sluggard, I would be amused. However, as I meditated on this word, I realised this was a serious word the Lord is giving us. There is a lot said about laziness. I will sample a few characteristics or consequences of laziness according to the Bible.

1. It is characterised by excuses:

The sluggard says ‘There is a lion outside!’ or ‘I will be murdered in the streets!’

I remember a cousin who delighted in begging from us. One day, we told him it would be better if he started a business. We asked him to come up with a business idea. We waited. Two months later, cousin was back saying after careful consideration, he had concluded that he was just not business material. This was coming from a person who could not keep a job.

2. It is characterised by excessive sleep: "As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed."

I attended a session where the speaker said that successful people are early risers. I concurred. She gave Titus Naikuni (CEO- Kenya Airways), James Mwangi (CEO- Equity Bank) and then CEO for Safaricom Michael Joseph as examples of people who are awake as early as 4:30am. I always get more tired easily when I wake up at 9am compared to when I wake up at 5am. Now how does a sluggard expect to succeed when he is starting to look for bread at 11am?

3. A sluggard’s behaviour is comparable to a fool’s:

"The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not bring it back to his mouth!"

Only foolishness would make a person be found in bed when he is able-bodied. I have a friend whose husband is extremely lazy. The man is gifted but refuses to use this gift to make extra income.

He relies on his payslip, which is choking with loans. Once his wife asked him for money. He said he didn’t have it. She said there was no food and he retorted, "So what do you want me to do?" And the man, who is a movie addict, turned to his TV set and continued watching his movie. My friend, to date, has become the breadwinner.

4. A sluggard will never have it easy in life: "The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns."

A sluggard can never experience the comforts of life.

5) The consequence of laziness is poverty:

"I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stonewall was in ruins.

I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

Arise! Pick up your hoe and go dig the fertile ground God has given you. Remember if a man will not sow, he will not eat.