Ecclesiastes 9:910 –Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

In one of his plays Shakespeare had one of his characters say, “How all occasions do inform against me, and spur my dull revenge! What is a man if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more! Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, looking before and after, gave us not that capability and godlike reason to fust in us unused.” Well said that man.
It was a good thing I had some meetings to get involved with yesterday and today because, truth to tell, I’ve been feeling a bit lazy and demotivated. And just sleeping and feeding might have felt like a pretty good option — and neither Will nor wise old Solomon would have approved!
It’s not just some puritan streak that says we should make productive use of our time — it’s really for our own good. The old saying that “the devil finds work for evil hands” is all too true. Work for idle hands and thoughts for empty minds … He has a plentiful supply of both.
There’s more to it, though, than just being useful from day to day. The Bard of Avon was right to draw attention to the great care — the “large discourse” — that God put into planning for us. God himself says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11). The “plan” is not just a plan that our circumstances should be useful but that we should become holy, and useful in the kingdom. Part of that planning was to make sure that we are able to do what is needful to serve those purposes: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:6-8)
It’s a great thing for me to think about when I’m feeling sluggish. Imagine sitting down with God and having Him say “I’ve got this great plan for you, and I’ve given you everything you need to get it done — but you’re not doing it. Wake Up!” Doesn’t bear thinking about does it?