The Sluggard

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(Proverbs 6:9)

"How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" Proverbs 6:9

English hymn writers are often, if not always, associated with another time and another place far removed from this present age. Among them was a man by the name of Isaac Watts, whose written works included Joy to the World and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. During his 17th and 18th century life, Watts composed a memorable series of "divine songs for children" with lyrics that spoke against idleness and slothful living. "Tis the voice of the sluggard… 'You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again…A little more sleep, and a little more slumber.' Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number, and when he gets up, he sits folding his hands, or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands."

Naturally, there are days when we all engage in a modern form of "blah" because we've worked a long week or even a long year. My own bouts with the flu can sometimes leave me strapped to a couch for several days, but occasional rest for the sick and weary is not the issue here. To be a sluggard is to see the dire circumstances that surround you and to still choose sleep over action; to refuse labor in the interest of slumber; to live a life of lounging to a life of working. This is the "sluggard" of Scripture.

When we speak of Scripture using the term "sluggard," we must confine that notion to Proverbs alone; for it is only Solomon who introduces us to this character. More frequently used by Solomon is the term "slothful man" as akin to the same person. If you're one fascinated by numerical significance in God's Word (much as E.W. Bullinger might have surmised), the sluggard, or slothful man, is mentioned 14 times by Solomon (6:9; 6:9; 10:26; 13:4; 15:19; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13,14,15,16).

Every mention, with the exception of the last (26:16) is an exasperated depiction of a man weakened by conflict who is unable to get past the thorns that may be in his path. Perhaps the most vivid image is found in chapter twenty. "The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing" (20:4). Watts went so far as to suggest that this is a man who could be doing much more, but he "wastes half his days" in slumber because the road seems too long and the thorns too sharp. Anything and everything is a cause for the sluggard to say he won't get out of bed; to say he'd rather not "arise out of" his sleep.

Some years ago, I awoke from gastrointestinal surgery to find that the doctors had rerouted my insides and left me wearing a colostomy bag at the age of nineteen. As one might imagine, my heart sank and my mind shut off. During the darkest period of unintended consequence, I saw life as something that could make do without my participation. Several days in, I penned these loathing words about myself: complaining much, denying all, eating little, thinking nothing, wanting less. Had it not been for the sure Word of God sitting near my bed over those next few months, I might have remained in a state of slothful depression. Most would have understood my trouble, but no one would have condoned sleeping through an absent life. Depression and sloth can be an addictive state of existence for many. Lest men of any age fall into the trap of living like a sluggard, let us remember there is still work to do (Ephesians 2:10).