We Can't Be Lazy
“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”
“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
You’re in your pajamas. You’ve got your favorite streaming service on the TV. You’ve got some popcorn, some pizza, and a whole day ahead of you to binge watch the latest drama. And that’s great!
For a rest day.
For every day, it’s not so much a good idea. For times when you know you need to get up and work on that project, it’s a very, very bad idea.
Rest is absolutely important, but there is a time and a place for it to where it doesn’t become a detriment to the purpose that God has given you. When the hours spent watching your favorite anime starts creeping up on the number of hours that you’ve spent in your creative endeavors, that’s laziness.
When you start prioritizing sleep — beyond what you need to be a functional human being (and outside of any illnesses) — over getting up and working, that’s laziness.
When you start scrolling through social media to avoid putting your brain to work on a project, that’s laziness (sometimes labelled as procrastination, but we’ll go into that farther below).
Even our favorite, God-given talents and passions are going to require a certain amount of work and discipline to get accomplished. Some of us work better with structure and some of us work better in chaos but we all need to keep an eye on ourselves fight off laziness!
Now, a quick word on procrastination, since that’s kind of a buzzy topic on the internet: procrastination does not always equal laziness! Big surprise, I know. Occasionally it does, like the above-mentioned doomscrolling example, but procrastination can come from a variety of other reasonable sources. Sometimes biology plays a role into it, such as physical discomfort, hunger, thirst/dehydration, or illness. Sometimes it comes from exhaustion, either mental or emotional, when you’re struggling with burnout and so avoiding whatever task it is that your mind has assessed will be too taxing to take on at the moment. And sometimes it’s just plain and simple distraction or boredom.
In short: laziness is always a sin, while procrastination may not be. It depends on the reason behind the action!
Remember, God calls us to good work for the benefit of Himself, others, and ourselves. Get up off the couch and go work, I promise you’ll feel better!
Putting it into Action: take some time this week and assess your productivity mindset. Look into how much time you are spending on things that are not creativity or work and dig into why. Are you gaining genuine rest from these things, or are you avoiding responsibility and effort for the work that you have been given to do?
If you feel like you are productive, but keep putting off specific tasks in procrastination, run a checklist next time you see it happening! Are you hungry or thirsty? Too cold or too tired? Have you been doing the same task over and over again and need a break? Need to get up and stretch?
