Walk of Life, Day 22 – Setember 2020, Thoughts From the Book of Proverbs

The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” – Proverbs 22:13

It is fear that keeps a man from going outside if there is a lion in the street and it’s a wonder that the author has connected this with a lazy man. Is it not much right to say,
“The coward says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”?

Why is it a sluggard? What is making him to say this reason? It is the intention of not working. The laziness starts consoling the heart with imaginary reasons.
“It’s raining outside”

“It’s very hot”

“It’s a complete lockdown”

“I cannot do this alone”

These are few more examples that a lazy person will say for not working just like telling “there is a lion outside”. A lazy person will not feel good if that lion is driven away. He /she always expects a lion to be outside as he can abstain from work. The present-day scenario somehow or the other has made us to develop the skill of being lazy especially with children and youngsters. There is always a lion that rescues them always.

“Schools and colleges are not functioning.”

“I don’t have anything to do and so I have got used to this mobile game”

“It’s very boring”

“Online classes are so stressful, so I need to divert my mind and take a break”

“I went to sleep very late last night”

“What am I going to do by waking up early?”

A few practical lions that are crossing our streets. These lions never allow us to reach higher goals. They console us and subside our conscience by giving a justification. Not to blame the youngsters and small children always. Even it is true for adults as well.
More than the heathen people the work that we, the children of God must do is in abundance. But it is very sad to know that they are much faster and organised. Physically and spiritually there are lots of things to workout. Whatever we practice from our childhood will be used in our later days.

I recently heard the testimony of Dr. J. Chandra Singh, the Associate Director-Finance, Associate professor of Neurology, Christian Medical College, Vellore. When he was in his nineth standard, he started a mobile library with a collection of 30 books and within two years he had 1200 books through his own finance by selling bibles, literature and song books in front of churches and at special meetings and he says it is the lesson learnt there that enables him to run the finance of such an organisation.

Dr. Benny Prasad, the Guinness record holder for being the fastest man ever to visit all 195 countries in the world had many true lions not just in the streets, but right there at his home, in his own physical body but, with all that he is being as a great inspiration and motivation to many.

There are many live witnesses who have been victorious in spite of not just imaginary lions with them but with real lions?
What is that exact reason which makes our hands and legs bound from working?

Let us act swiftly as the Lord commands us by saying “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”

Time no more! Time no more!

We have our school friends, college friends, colleagues, playground friends, friends who commute with us, hundreds and hundreds of people around. Unless and until we don’t set an example, we cannot show forth Christ. We cannot rescue them. We must stand only with heads bowed down in shame in front of our Lord.

May our Lord help us to overcome laziness and give us the grace to be productive and fruitful in this world for His kingdom.