The Doctrine of Work: Learn from the Ant, o’ Sluggard

In Proverbs 6 Solomon warns us of the dangers of slothful inactivity. In his warning, Solomon compares the extremes of two of nature’s creatures: The ant and the man with the energy of a slug.

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:6–11, NIV84)

Our spiritual forefathers in the early church maintained that there were seven sins that were deadly. The were Pride, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Anger, Lust, and Gluttony. They were considered deadly because, if they are not crucified daily, they lead the soul away from God and righteousness. They were considered transgressions fatal to spiritual progress.

The Hebrew word for ‘sluggard' occurs here and 13 other times in Proverbs. It is used nowhere else in the Old Testament. It refers to more than mere laziness. In other proverbs, the word is contrasted with uprightness and righteousness and associated with being shiftless. A slothful person, in the eyes of the Old Testament, is not only a lazy person, but also an irresponsible person who is undependable and who becomes a burden to his or her family and community. If the slothful person continues in their ways, they may eventually engage in wicked or evil behavior. The result is personal ruin.

I. PHYSICAL SLOTH CAN KILL THE BODY

ILLUS. When my Grandpa Bill retired, he retired. He retired to his lounge chair where he did little more than watch TV, eat, smoke cigarettes, and drink beer most of the day. Twice a week he would drive up to Alton, IL to go fishing, where he would sit on the bank in his lawn chair and inevitably fall asleep — usually with a beer in his hand. He was dead in two years.

1. inactivity pretty much killed him (I’m sure the cigarettes and booze didn’t help)

A. 1st, WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY THAT HAS SOME REALLY MIXED-UP VIEWS ON WORK

1. God always meant for man to work — work is not the result of the Fall

a. man was placed in the Garden to tend it care for it and God set him about the task of naming all the animals

b. this was meant to be a joy and a pleasure

1) we don’t hear Adam complaining, “God, why don’t you just name them yourself, I’m tired.” or “I’ve been naming animals all morning. My union contract says I should be getting a 30-minute break right now.”

2. like everything else, sin even affected man’s concept of work

a. let me give you four ways sin had negatively affected our work

b. Affect #1 — Compulsive workers — men and women who have a driving compulsion to outwork everyone else

1) these are men and women who work 60-70-80 hours a week

2) they go to work early and stay late and usually bring work home with them

3) they are willing to sacrifice almost everything for their career because they believe their career is a way to change lives and change the world

ILLUS. James Dobson tells the story of a father who kept bringing his work home with him. One evening his 1st grade son, who was aching to play catch with his daddy, asked him why he always had to bring work home with him. Daddy explained that he couldn’t finish it all during the day. The boy thought for a moment and then asked, “Then why don’t they just put you in a slower group?”

4) for these people, work has become the source of their identity — they are what they do ... the result is that work becomes their idol — their source of ultimate meaning

b. Affect #2 — Complacent workers — men and women who work only because they have to

1) they live for the time they punch out

2) they do the bare minimum amount of work they can get away with without being fired

3) work for them is only an evil necessity that allows them to go for the gusto, and do all the ‘fun stuff’ they really want to do

c. Affect #3 — Cupididous workers — men and women who believe that working is all about gaining wealth — more and more and more of it

1) cupidity is a word that means an excessive desire for wealth

ILLUS. The cupidious worker’s attitude is best illustrated in a Michael Douglas movie called Wall Street, where Douglas plays the character of Gordon Gekko. In a speech to the company stockholders Gekko utters that famous movie line: “Greed – for lack of a better word – is good. Greed is right. Greed works.”

2) these are people who love money, and work solely for the accumulation of wealth

d. Affect #4 — Consuming non-workers — this is the true sluggard; men and women who believe that, for one reason or another, society owes them a living

1) society will always have some segment of its citizenry who do not work, and given the choice between working and freeloading they would choose the latter

2) the sad reality for many in this group is that if they worked as hard at a real job as they do in getting others to pay their bills for them, they’d probably be pretty well off!

3. these are all non-biblical views toward work, and reveal how sin negatively affects man’s conception of work

B. 2nd, GOD CREATED US TO BE INDUSTRIOUS AND WORK TO BE A BLESSING

1. have you ever wondered why we have to work?

a. is work supposed to be a joy or is it a grim necessity?

b. what place does work have in your life and what is your attitude toward it?

1) Christians need to think about such things

2) for the Christian there is a 5th understanding of vocation and work

2. Affect #5 — Covenant workers — confessing Christians who see their employment as a way to provide for their families, glorify God, and witness for Christ

a. by Covenant workers, I mean Christians who understand that they are in a covenant-relation with God in Christ, that then affects every other relationship in their life

1) including their relationship with their work and/or employer

b. Christ encouraged His disciples to be salt and light — change agents in the world around them

c. one of the very best environments for us to accomplish that is the place where most of us spend 40-50 hours a week

3. the biblical Doctrine of Work is not just about working hard

a. for the vast majority of us, physical sloth is not a problem

ILLUS. The most recent report from the U.S. Government shows that American worker productivity continues to increase.

1) if you are an average worker, you put in 50 hours a week at your job

b. the biblical Doctrine of Work is all about understanding why we should work hard

" ... whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31, NASB95)

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (Colossians 3:17, NASB95)

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men," (Colossians 3:23, NASB95)

4. in the book of 2 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul emphasized the witness of work

a. work is as much a spiritual matter as it was a physical matter

ILLUS. In the mid-18th century, two enormously culturally influential movements arose in England. One was the Industrial Revolution with it’s belching smokestacks and what British poet William Blake described as “Satanic mills” that brutalized the landscape and crushed workers. The other culturally influential movement was Methodism, started by the Wesley brothers. John Wesley encouraged Methodists to seek holiness of heart and life in ways that also transformed their secular vocations. They were to take Jesus with them into the mills. He encouraged Christian to be engaged in honest industry. Methodists emphasized that salvation was not merely a way to heaven, but also a way on earth.

b. his advice to workers was, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can”

6. God created us to be industrious and work to be a blessing

C. 3rd, GOD COMMANDED MAN TO WORK THAT HE MIGHT KNOW BLESSINGS

1. what the blessings of work you ask?

a. the blessing of providing for your family and setting an example for your children

1) Paul asserts that one’s unwillingness to provide for the basic needs of one’s family is tantamount to denying the faith

“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8, NIV84)

b. the blessing of penetrating the marketplace with a Christian witness

1) Jesus made it abundantly clear that Christians are to impact the world and spread their influence to every corner of society

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:13–17, NIV84)

2) we are to be salt and light

3) the church gathers on Sunday, but it scatters on Monday through Saturday

4) the market place of business and work is one of the very best places to affect the world for Christ

5) you can’t do that if you’re chronically late for work, or always making excuses about why you don’t get your work done, or always complaining about the job you have

c. the blessing of promoting the kingdom

1) each of us has a calling

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1, NIV84)

2) through the wages we receive because of our work, you and I have the opportunity to be good stewards by supporting evangelism and missions

3) doing so promotes the advancement of the kingdom in places you and I may never see, among people we may never meet this side of the Kingdom of heaven

d. the blessing of giving to others

“He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28, NIV84)

1) this Scriptures paints a picture of God allowing us work and prosper so that we can give our abundance to others in need

2) what a novel approach to work!

ILLUS. Andrew Carnegie became one of the richest men in the world by the time he was fifty years old. He was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. His wealth came from the steel industry. After he died, his children, while cleaning out their father’s desk, found a piece of paper on which Carnegie had written his life goal. It had been scrawled when he was in his 20s: "I want to spend the first half of my life accumulating as much money as I can and the second half of my life giving it away." And that's exactly what he did. Carnegie amassed a personal fortune of more than $450 million. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away 90% of his fortune —$65 billion in 2019 dollars. His 1889 article proclaiming "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society.

2. believers are to be examples in all things including our work ethic and our generosity

a. God's people are to be industrious as an ant when it comes to our secular work

b. the reason is that even our secular work has a spiritual purpose behind it

... Physical Sloth Can Kill the Body

II. INTELLECTUAL SLOTH CAN KILL THE MIND

ILLUS. The United Negro College Fund used to advertise for funds with the well-known slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

1. one of my greatest concerns for our culture in general and the church in particular is that we have become a nation of intellectual sluggards

a. I believe that too many Americans are gripped by intellectual sloth

1) students want to be spoon-fed answers

2) teachers are so busy trying to teach character that they no longer have time to teach critical thinking

b. because we have become a nation of intellectual sluggards we are wasting our minds

ILLUS. SAT scores are on the average, 80 points lower than they were thirty years ago.

ILLUS. In 1959 the vocabulary of an average 9th grader was 25,000 words. Today the vocabulary of average 9th grader is only 10,000 words.

ILLUS. I find it alarming that most Americans go through life unscathed by even an elementary knowledge about the nation's history.

c. in the Book of Proverbs, King Solomon paints a picture of wisdom going through the streets like a heralder who nobody will listen to

“Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: 22 “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:20–22, NIV84)

ILLUS. According to the American philosopher Mortimer J. Adler, in his book Intellect: Mind over Matter, the vice of intellectual sloth (or laziness) consists in the habitual neglect of one’s intellect.

1) unlike other vices, intellectual sloth harms oneself rather than harming others

2) but it is still a serious vice, since it consists in turning one’s back on one’s own human nature

3) bottom line? — intellectual laziness is not caring about truth

2. the most damning consequence of America’s flirtation with intellectual sloth is the rank biblical illiteracy that is the result of that sloth

a. fifty years ago, even non-Christians had an elementary knowledge of the Scriptures and biblical history

b. today, the typical lost person is totally ignorant of bible history or bible facts and the average believer has only a cursory knowledge of those Scriptures

A. TOO MANY CHRISTIANS SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS IN THE BIBLE

ILLUS. In 2016, researcher George Gallup put the problem squarely: "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent. A Barna poll indicated that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. We are in big trouble. A few years ago at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY., the dean of the School of Theology asked incoming students to list the Ten Commandments. Only one out of 50 were able to list all ten. The seminary now requires all incoming students to take a course called Introduction to the Bible.

1. the bible tells us that we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our strength, and all of our mind

2. the Christians faith was never meant to be a faith devoid of thought or intellect

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, KJV)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” (Proverbs 9:10-11, NIV)

ILLUS. John R. Stott, one of the great preachers and scholars of the late 20th century, wrote: “By our anti-intellectualism, in which we either refuse or cannot be bothered to listen to God's Word, we may be storing up for ourselves the judgment of Almighty God.... God has constituted us thinking beings; he has treated us as such by communicating with us in words; he has renewed us in Christ and given us the mind of Christ; and he will hold us responsible for the knowledge we have.”

3. just as physical sloth can kill the body, so intellectual sloth can kill the mind

a. the Christian who has not cultivated his mind by cultivating the mind of Christ, is a Christian who is of little spiritual use to their family, their church, their community, and to the Kingdom of God

b. knowledge is indispensable to Christian life and service — and especially the knowledge of God and spiritual matters

1) if we do not use the mind that God has given us, we condemn ourselves to spiritual superficiality and cut ourselves off from many of the riches of God's grace

2) knowledge is given us to be used, to lead us to higher worship, greater faith, deeper holiness, better service

... Intellectual Sloth Can Kill the Body

III. SPIRITUAL SLOTH CAN KILL THE SOUL

1. the reason our early spiritual forefathers considered sloth so deadly was because of the proximity of physical laziness to spiritual laziness

2. in their writings we see that they were concerned that believers not be slothful in their secular work

3. we also see that they were concerned that believers not be slothful in their spiritual lives

A. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A RIGOROUS LIFE AND NOT FOR THE SPIRITUALLY LAZY

1. Jesus said that the path of the Christian life is narrow and difficult and few are those who want to travel that road

ILLUS. G. K. Chesterton, rightly noted, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”

2. the Christian life is a life that demands that each believer, each day, take up their cross and follow Jesus

3. there will be times in life when all of us are tempted to lay down our cross and become spiritual sluggards

a. is it any wonder that the Apostle Paul told his readers:

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9–10, NIV84)

1) Christians should not become slothful in well-doing, nor cease from the practice of love

2) Christians should not become slothful in the reading of the Scriptures

3) Christians should not become slothful in prayer

4) Christians should not become slothful in worship and fellowship

4. our church roll is littered with the name of those believers who have become spiritual sluggards

a. they have grown weary of prayer and fellowship and worship and bible study and ministry

5. the answer is spiritual exertion — will you work at hard at being a Christian as you do at your weekday vocation?

a. King Solomon challenges the slothful person to learn the lesson of the ant

b. he commends the lowly ant for being industrious and taking initiative

1) apparently ants have no leader no commander to direct them, no overseer to inspect their work, no ruler to prod them on

2) yet they work better than many people under a leader

c. ants also work in anticipation of future needs, storing and gathering while it is warm, before the winter comes

... Spiritual Sloth Can Kill the Body

Slothfulness, the 100% variety, is rare. Most of us don't suffer from it. But there are different degrees of slothfulness and like every other sin, it needs to be weeded out of our lives.

Slothfulness is a student not caring about their studies.

Slothfulness is a parent not caring about the spiritual well-being of their child by not bringing them to Sunday School or Church.

Slothfulness are teachers not caring about teaching and getting by on twenty-five-year-old lesson plans.

Slothfulness are store clerks too uninterested in their customers to be courteous.

Slothfulness is a doctor too careless to care well.

Slothfulness is a Christian too busy or pre-occupied with “whatever” to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Do you see that slothfulness may be more of a problem in our lives than we care to admit?

No one dedicated to the cause of God ought to be idle – physically, mentally or spiritually.

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