Laziness in the Bible: Working and Growing in God

Working for God Is Not the Same as Growing in God

Sloth, sluggard, lazy—all are terms that mean someone is not hardworking. The last thing most people want to be called is lazy. Americans are known for being hard working, almost too hard working. The Old Testament calls out laziness, or sloth, as it refers to it, as a sin. Remember, laziness is not the same as rest. God Himself has given us a day of rest. So resting from hard labor is not sin.

The New Testament agrees with the Old that laziness is sin, but the New Testament adds another layer to the meaning of lazy. In the New Testament, not just physical hard work is expected but spiritual hard work as well. God doesn't expect us to just be busy but to be a diligent Christian who cares about the things that matter to Him. Laziness in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, warns us not to neglect our spiritual growth in our relationship with God.

Don't confuse working for God with growing in God. You can serve in church, teach Sunday school, cook meals, clean the building, lead worship, evangelize, give money, and do a hundred other good things and still neglect prayer, Scripture, obedience, repentance, self-control, holiness, and actually knowing God. The spiritual sluggard might be the person who is extraordinarily busy doing Christian things but never disciplines himself to become more like Christ.

The Foolish Virgins Were Not Diligent

Jesus shares parables that clearly place an emphasis on spiritual hard work. We find the first of these in the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Here we find five wise virgins awake, alert, and with lamps filled with oil awaiting the coming of their bridegroom. The other five foolish virgins were not as diligent.

The foolish virgins didn't bring extra oil to fill their lamps with in case they had to wait a long time. They begged the wise virgins to share their oil but they would not because they did not want to run out of oil themselves. So they left to go buy more oil but when the bridegroom arrived they were not there and so did not get to go to the marriage banquet.

Many Bible scholars believe the oil represents the spiritual readiness of the virgins. The bridegroom represents Jesus. The parable emphasizes the importance of being spiritually prepared at all times for Jesus' return. Spiritual readiness takes diligence and hard work: prayer, Bible study, obedience, and faithfulness.

Use What God Has Given Us

Jesus continues with another example in Matthew 25:14-30. This story is known as the Parable of the Talents. In the story the wealthy master travels away for an extended period of time. He leaves three stewards (a person who manages and oversees property) a significant amount of money: one receives five talents, one receives two and the third receives one.

While he is away, the first two double their money with wise investments but the last one is afraid and hides his money in the ground. When the master returns, he richly rewards the first two but takes away the one talent from the steward and punishes him.

Jesus calls this last unfruitful servant a "slothful servant." He takes away the talent and gives it to the one who made more and was faithful. In verse 29 Jesus says,

"For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Jesus' parable is about stewardship. Whatever God entrusts to us, whether opportunities, resources, abilities, spiritual gifts, or responsibilities, is not ultimately ours. We are stewards, and God expects us to be faithful with what He has given us.

Whatever gift, no matter how small, can be used to advance His kingdom and to show others the love of God. We have people who are gifted preachers and teachers, people who are gifted encouragers and prayer warriors, and people who are excellent cooks and cleaners. All gifts, no matter what they are, are expected to be used.

Laziness in the Bible: You Can Work for God and Neglect God

In the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), we see the hard working Martha, cooking, cleaning and preparing things for Jesus. On the other hand we see Mary, sitting at His feet and learning. Mary, in the eyes of the world, is the lazy one but Jesus says she has "chosen the better part." What Martha did wasn't wrong but Mary chose to grow closer to the Lord.

What more does God have for us when we use the abilities He has given us? Billy Graham, the most famous evangelist of the 20th century, was born on a dairy farm in North Carolina in 1918. He became a minister at 21. On June 3, 1973 he preached in person in Seoul, South Korea to between 1.1 and 1.3 million people. It is estimated that he reached 215 million people across more than 185 countries through his live sermons, radio, and television broadcasts.

I wonder how the world would have been different if Mr. Graham had not used the gifts he had been given? What would have happened if he had been a "slothful servant"? Thank God he was not!

We can see this same thing play out in our own lives. Doing things doesn't necessarily mean we are being diligent. We spend time pursuing worthwhile activities, maybe even doing worthwhile things out of love for others, but we still may not be zealous for spiritual things.

Because we can do something doesn't necessarily mean God wants us to do it. Diligence requires focus. We need to know where God is leading us and faithfully follow Him rather than constantly running from one thing to the next.

We can even become apathetic about our love for God while still trying to work hard to serve Him. Scripture warns us about the dangers of spiritual apathy. God wants servants who are on fire for love of Him. We find this theme of spiritual hard work continuing in the writings of Paul.

The Christian Life Requires Diligence

Paul reminds the Romans in Romans 12:11 to not be slothful in zeal but be fervent in spirit when we serve God. And in Colossians 3:23 he explains that, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul tells us to be an unashamed worker, one approved by God, who is able to understand His Word.

We don't live as a Christian sitting in a pew at church soaking up what the pastor says once a week and stopping there, no! Some people volunteer for every church activity but fail to remember to read the Word or pray deeply on a daily basis.

And some think their gifts are useless until they step up and trust God. Think of the encouraging person who finally decides to write a note to someone or send a message and finds out what a difference it made to them. Our lives are living sacrifices played out in the relationships we have with others; in how we show them the love of Christ. Other authors continue to emphasize the importance of hard work.

Work Diligently to Become Holy

The book of James explains that faith without works is dead and works are a natural outgrowth of faith. The grace of God saves us so we can do the works of a spiritually alive soul. We don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk, as the old saying goes. Hebrews 6:10-12 tells us that God sees the work and love we have when we serve others and encourages us not to be "sluggish" in these works.

In 2 Peter he addresses the importance of diligence in serving God (2 Peter 1:10; 3:14). Diligence is our hard work and focus on loving God and living for Him. Laziness in the Bible isn't just about refusing to work; it can also mean neglecting our spiritual growth.

Sometimes we are so focused on providing for the material needs of ourselves or our families we forget that we have spiritual needs. The Fruit of the Spirit is one of those needs. It is the Holy Spirit who produces God's fruit in us when we abide in Christ. This fruit is singular because these characteristics make up all of who we should really be and how we should treat others.

The Fruit of the Spirit isn't just for our own benefit but helps us to show Christ to those around us. What is the Fruit of the Spirit? It is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-24). Do these words describe us?

How sad our lives would be if we grew wealthy in the eyes of the world but lived in spiritual want. Hebrews 5:12-14 urges us to move from spiritual milk like a baby would drink, to spiritual meat, like those who have devoted themselves to learning, growing and applying their faith diligently to their lives. Are we attempting to go deeper into God's Word, into the meat of our faith?

Paul compares our lives as Christians to a runner who has trained his whole life because he wants to win a prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). The Christian life needs discipline, practice, and effort just like a runner. We compete to finish our lives faithfully and hear those words, "Well done, you good and faithful servant."

Paul says a disciplined and self controlled body is necessary to be able to do this. We diligently seek our Father so we can learn more about Him, become more like Him, and show others more perfectly how loving Him changes us and the world we live in.

What Are We Doing With What God Has Given You?

What gifts do we have that we are not using for His Kingdom? What God has given us should never be buried out of fear. He gave us those talents and He can take them away if we don't use them to be productive for Him.

What spiritual gifts need tending in our lives? Do our gifts look like my garden at the moment—shriveled up and dying? Are we afraid to use them? Give that fear to our Father. Give what we have to Him as our sacrifice of praise.

Many Christians have reduced discipleship to attending church once a week, listening to a sermon, singing some songs, and then returning to ordinary life without intentionally pursuing spiritual growth. Church is necessary. Meeting together to worship God is being obedient. But church isn't the entirety of Christian discipleship.

God invites us to pursue holiness. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Peter tells believers to “be even more diligent to make your call and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). Paul tells Timothy to “exercise yourself toward godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). Those are not passive instructions.

How would the world be different if we were lazy and unfaithful servants? How many lives would never be touched? We are not all called to preach to millions of people or be missionaries but we are called to use the gifts we have for God. Jesus has an expectation—that we will be active, faithful Christians.

In Matthew 6 Jesus says "When you do charitable deeds...", "When you pray...", and "When you fast..." Not if, but when we do these things. This is His expectation. We serve a God of action. He expects no less of us.

Our faithfulness means different things: working, praying, sitting quietly at Jesus' feet, or perhaps loving one difficult person when nobody notices. It does not matter what the world sees in us, it only matters what God sees. He knows the gifts we have, even when sometimes we don't.

It all requires diligence. What are we doing with what God has given us? And are we so busy doing things for God that we have neglected the work He most wants to do in us? We serve God, and we seek to know God. We need to do both.