Proverbs 6:6-11 — Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man.

I was not born with a built-in protestant work ethic. I was born idle. Sadly, there was nobody in my early life who gave me the gift of industriousness. Work, for me, is a learned skill that I have to practice. Even now, if I don’t watch out, I can happily watch time just passing by. For that reason, the passage about laziness in Proverbs 6 is one I need to revisit quite often, and the many other “laziness” verses in proverbs form a helpful checklist — as soon as I can get round to printing it …
I know the sort of person who reads this devotion — not generally lazy. Maybe, though, you know someone who needs it, so here is the Proverbs list for lazy people.

To start with, as our keynote passage warns, laziness leads to poverty and misery. You can also check that one out in verses 13:4, 19:15, 20:4, 21:25-26, 24:30-34, and 28:19.
Laziness makes your parents ashamed of you (10:5).
Laziness is aggravating to employers (10:26).
Laziness shows is wasteful — even when a lazy person manages to get anything to waste! (12:27).
Laziness never leads to satisfaction 13:4 and 21:25-26).
Laziness actually makes the idlers work harder than in needs to be 15:19).
Laziness makes lazy people sleep when they should be working, so they end up hungry. (19:15 and 26:13-16).
Lazy people can’t even make the effort to take necessary care of themselves. (19:24 and 21:25)
Lazy people always have an excuse for not working (22:13).
Laziness can’t be hidden — its results make it obvious, even to a casual observer (24:30-34).
Lazy people always think they are smarter than hard workers.
Laziness always chooses entertainment over effort — even though it leads to poverty.

I’m sorry to say that in my younger days … perhaps until my mid-twenties … you could have fairly applied most of the Proverbs warnings to me. I did, eventually, learn the lesson. I know, though, that there are consequences that will carry through to the end of my life. If you know anyone who might go the same way, please pass the lesson on. It’s not that hard!