Reading The Proverbs With Timothy And Kathy KellerSample

 The Sluggard

Another kind of fool in Proverbs is the sluggard. The wise are self-starters, needing only internal motivation, not threats, to do their work (6:7). They also are not impulsive, instead practicing delayed gratification (verse 8). In contrast, the sluggard makes constant excuses for apparently small lapses (a little . . . a little . . . a little) but then is surprised when he is assaulted by poverty (verses 10–11). “He . . . deceives himself by the smallness of his surrenders. So, by inches and minutes, his opportunity slips away.”

In Hillbilly Elegy the author tells of Bob, who worked with him at a tile warehouse with his girlfriend. Bob missed work once a week, was chronically late, and took many breaks each day, lasting over half an hour each. His girlfriend missed work every third day and never gave advance notice. When they were fired, after many warnings, Bob was furious. The author concludes, convincingly, that too many today are “immune . . . to hard work,” and that what used to be thought of as good, reasonable jobs are now seen as demanding unreasonable standards. The result is social decay, as Proverbs warned. Contrast this with Jesus, who said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17).

Is there any area of your life that is “slipping away” because you are not getting to work on it?

Prayer: Lord, it is wrong to overwork, driven by a need to succeed and please others. But it is equally wrong and destructive to be lazy. Here, as in so many other areas, I need divine aid to strike the godly balance. Help me, Lord! Amen.

Excerpt from God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs by Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller

Reprinted by arrangement with Viking Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2017 by Timothy and Kathy Keller