Walk Of Life – Day 10, October 2020, Thoughts From The Book Of Proverbs

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him. – Proverbs 10:26

There is a good measure of verses in Proverbs that speak to or about the sluggard. The famous one being, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,” (Proverbs 6:6) Laziness is something that God hates. The first order of business in the newly created world that God brought about was giving the man a job. “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)

Some verses in the Bible that talk about the laziness and its effects are pretty intense. But they are there for a reason. God prescribed man labor in the beginning so he can fend for himself, be purposeful and sustain his household. When laziness creeps in, the whole ecosystem is affected.

The verse that we have taken for today’s meditation brings out two similes to describe about the works of a lazy man. Very strong similes.

Vinegar to the teeth: –
Vinegar is an aqueous solution with acetic acid and so it has many benefits in cleaning and cooking. Along with baking soda it brings out fumes and it can clear any kind of a strong stain or dirt. It is also advised to be used after dilution rather than in the pure form. When talking about teeth, they are the hard substances covered with an enamel and usage of vinegar will undoubtedly erode the surface of teeth.

Smoke to the eyes: –
The smoke that comes through fire hurt our eyes with irritation as there are tiny particles invisible to the naked eyes. Exposure to smoke on any level can cause irritation to your eyes—symptoms such as burning sensations, redness, and tearing up are commonplace with exposure to smoke. More over the habit of smoking can lead to vision loss or blindness along with heart disease or lung cancer.

Effects of giving work to a lazy man: –
It is interesting to find that this verse doesn’t speak about the lazy person but about the one who gives a specified job to a lazy person. How much pathetic. While writing this I’m getting a big list in my head of the works that I have fail to do. What a sluggard am I bringing dishonour to the ones who have entrusted me with.

We have heard, read, known and have been with the men and women of God who laboured untiringly in His vineyard giving a good name to their master. Great examples. Noah, could have been lazily procrastinated the work of building the ark. Moses, could have said “Lord, not today! Let us start few days later or at least in the morning after the breakfast.” But he did not say. Men and women of God showed no signs of laziness, in spite of their inability, weakness, failures and so on.
Let not Satan mock our Lord pointing his fingers towards us about our laziness in doing the work of God. Let us be always readily available to be faithful and loyal in the work with which we are entrusted with. Let us say Lord, “I have completed the task which you have assigned me.”