Walk Of Life – Day 12, April 2021 – Thoughts From The Book Of Proverbs – DON’T s
DO NOT BE SLOTHFUL
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious – Proverbs 12 : 27
We are called to be diligent and not slothful
The word diligent means to be zealous; to put in a very special effort. But it’s an effort of a particular kind. It’s a zeal to use to the fullest possible extent, all that God has given to you in His grace. The things that have happened to you in your life are not by accident, nor by fate. You are to be diligent and “to be found in peace without spot and blameless,” we read in Roman 12 verse 14. This is the way we are to live. This is not a light warning. The greatest danger in your life is that you will fall from your steadfastness.
There may be a lot of things that threaten you in your life. Or you may feel as though you are threatened by many things through circumstances — health, work or something wrong in your life, something that is not quite straight. But your greatest threat is that you will no longer be diligent, but that you will become slothful; that you will be led away by the error of the wicked; that you will lose that first love that you once knew, the things that the Lord worked in your life.
The Lord has worked in your life. If the scriptures have been opened to you by your father and mother; if you have a Bible at your bedside; if you have friends that have spoken to you concerning the way of salvation, it is in these things that you must be diligent and not slothful. “How is it possible that we might become slothful?” What does the word slothful mean? Slothful means to be hesitant, to hold back. It means you are not doing what you should be doing. That in turn means that you are negligent, neglecting the very precious gifts that God has given to you in your life. That is what we read in Matthew 25:26 — the servant who hid his talent. He buried it, because it wasn’t precious to him. The Lord had given it to him, but he didn’t treasure it. What did the Lord say? ‘‘Thou wicked and slothful servant.” That’s what slothfulness exemplifies. We see what slothful means by what that particular servant did. How tragic it is, that even those to whom the Lord has given the greatest gifts become slothful.
It’s time that we examine ourself today. Am I slothful? Am I doing the work which the Lord has entrusted me with all diligence?
Dear brothers and sisters, I take the lead to repent for my slothfulness. I’m not continuing to do many tasks which I was doing earlier. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. – Luke 12:48
