THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Proverbs: Topical Applications of Proverbs

III. The Proverbs Themselves, Proverbs 10:1-31:31

I. Replacing Slothfulness With Diligence

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Yesterday, we celebrated our nation’s 250^th birthday, a significant milestone in our history. However, along with that milestone, we note that slothfulness afflicts much of our country in the form of advancing Marxism:

(1) “Socialists” who are members of Democratic Socialists of America “are sweeping through and taking control of America’s big cities, replacing the old Democrat establishment and imposing their will on local politics . . . the newly adopted DSA platform labeled ‘Workers Deserve More’” aims to build “a new society from the ground up . . . ‘with sweeping political and economic changes, including . . . the establishment of public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries.” (Jarrett Stepman, “The DSA’s platform explicitly aims to destroy the Constitution,” Republican-American, June 27, 2026, p. A6)

(2) The Marxist idea of replacing private ownership with communalism breeds slothfulness and poverty: a favorite economist of the Left was “Thomas Piketty” whose “plan would cap GDP per capita in wealthy countries at roughly $69,000, far less than America’s current $94,430 . . . The plan would mandate an international three-day work week and reduce construction activity by 70%, manufacturing by 87% and even leisure-sector activity by 58% . . . Degrowth is the ultimate luxury belief” of Piketty’s followers. “It’s dreamed up by tenured professors in Paris and progressive think-tank pundits in Brussels. These are people who already have high incomes, comfortable apartments, generous health care and pensions and whose ideas would pull up the ladder on billions of poor people.” (Veronique de Rugy, “A villainous blueprint for managed poverty,” op. cit., June 12, 2026, p. A6)

(3) All we have to do to see the fruits of socialism is to look at the cities they now govern: “The personal-finance company WalletHub recently produced a report on the best- and worst-run cities in the United States . . . (T)he best-run cities tend to be found in red (Republican) or purple states, while the worst are reliably blue (Democratic) . . . (The) survey focused on . . . operating efficiency – ‘comparing the quality of public services to residents against the city’s overall budget to understand how effectively public funds are being managed’ – as well as long-term debt, crime rates, unemployment and poverty. ‘The study developed a ‘Quality of City Services’ score for each city, using 36 key performance indicators across six service categories, and compared those results to each city’s total per-capita budget,’ according to a news release . . .” (“‘Blue cities’ misfortune,” op. cit., June 22, 2026, p. A6)

Need: So we ask, “At the 250^th anniversary of our nation, what does God counsel on the issue of slothfulness?”

I. God’s “wisdom,” His hokmah, or fixed eternal moral order for success and blessing, applies to many issues of human concern, including the issue of slothfulness.

II. We thus view proverbs translated from the Hebrew Biblical text (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica) in the Book of Proverbs on God’s insight on slothfulness (as follows):

A. Slothfulness is associated with a lack of teachability: Proverbs 26:16 states, “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.”

B. Accordingly, slothfulness produces several major, costly problems for those who exhibit it (as follows):

1. Slothfulness leads to a costly lack of foresight: Proverbs 20:4 asserts, “A sluggard does not plow after the autumn harvest (when it is cold and rainy), so at (next year’s) harvest time he looks but finds nothing.”

2. Slothfulness leads to costly inaction:

a. It leads to one’s inability to take initiative to make a good living: Proverbs 26:14 claims, “As a door turns on its hinges, ,so a sluggard turn on his bed.” He will not even exert the energy needed to get up out of bed in the morning. (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 962)

b. It leads to self-destructive obstacles in life: Proverbs 15:19 states, “The way of a sluggard is blocked with thorns (because he is so slow that thorns have time to grow up to impede his path in life), but the path of the upright (who diligently, consistently clear away the thorns) is a highway.”

3. Slothfulness produces dangerous inaction even in crises:

a. Proverbs 26:13 claims, “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets’” and Proverbs 22:13 adds, “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside, I will be killed in the streets.’”

b. Instead of acting to remove the threat of a loose lion in the town, the sluggard merely talks about the crisis.

4. Slothfulness produces livelihood hardships:

a. “Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the negligent man goes hungry,” Proverbs 19:15.

b. “The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions,” Proverbs 12:27.

c. “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish (to dip a sop); he will not even bring it back to his mouth” to complete the effort to feed himself, Proverbs 19:24 (with Proverbs 26:15).

5. Slothfulness produces emotional and mental stress:

a. Proverbs 13:4 claims, “The sluggard craves yet (gets) nothing for his ‘life principle’ (nepesh, his physical, emotional, mental and spiritual life, Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1170; Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the O. T., 1973, p. 56-59), but the ‘life principle’ (nepesh again, Kittel, Ibid.) of the diligent is made fat.”

b. Proverbs 21:25-26 teach, “The craving of the sluggard will be the death of him, for his hands refuse to work; all day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.”

6. Slothfulness produces hazards in human relationships:

a. Proverbs 10:26 states, “As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes is a sluggard to those who send him.”

b. Proverbs 12:24 asserts, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”

III. To overcome the problem of slothfulness, Scripture provides the solution (as follows):

A. The Apostle Paul in Titus 3:14 NIV ordered, “Our people (believers in Christ in the context) must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.” This order countered the ungodly tendencies of the people on Crete whom Titus was discipling to be “‘liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons’” according to Paul’s claim in Titus 1:12 NIV.

B. The capacity to avoid slothfulness by being productive in life comes by the quality of egkrateia, the Greek word for “self-control” that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit according to Galatians 5:23 (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 661; Abbott-Smith, A Manual Grk. Lex. of the N. T., 1968, p. 128). In addition, a believer must rely on the indwelling Holy Spirit by an act of faith to produce that quality, Galatians 5:16.

C. Thus, one must receive salvation by believing the gospel of Christ as explained in “(1)” of the Application section below followed by relying by faith on the Holy Spirit to overcome slothfulness with God’s blessing.

Lesson: Slothfulness is a product of sin in a person, and it produces a costly lack of foresight, costly inaction, dangerous inaction in crises, livelihood hardships, emotional and mental stress and relationship hazards. Slothfulness is then overcome through one’s being spiritually saved by faith in Christ followed by one’s relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit of God for the self-control needed to live an actively productive life.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) Since the Holy Spirit indwells a believer at salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14), a believer needs to rely on the Spirit to produce the self-control needed to live productively.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

In pausing this 250^th anniversary of the United States to look back over our country’s history, we note that slothfulness that is fostered by socialism initially marked the start of life for our pilgrim forefathers in the New World. When they came ashore from the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620 and tried to live as a socialistic cooperative until 1623, that economic system so diluted personal initiative that now marks all Marxist entities that the pilgrims nearly starved! No one wanted to work hard in the collective to raise food when others who did not work ate their crops while the laborers went hungry! Getting the women and children out in the fields to help with the work was seen as scandalous! Realizing that this cooperative structure was not working well, the pilgrims’ Governor William Bradford then assigned each family its own plot of land and told each family to live off of what they raised on their respective plot. This capitalist economic structure created the initiative for each family to work hard to farm its plot with the reward that they would be able to eat what they had grown! This arrangement even brought out the women and children to work the fields! The pilgrims then gained a great harvest, and they celebrated it with a feast!

When the Puritans later crossed the Atlantic Ocean from England to the New World, they adopted the capitalist system that the pilgrim forefathers then practiced, and this system in time permeated the whole culture in America, leading to the financial welfare of the United States! (Daniel J. Flynn, “Socialism Didn’t Work At Plymouth Plantation, Either,” humanevents.com; November 25, 2010) So, in celebrating our nation’s 250^th birthday, we would do well to avoid slothfulness in all its forms, including that created by Marxist socialism, through relying on the Holy Spirit of God to lead active, productive lives and please the Lord!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then rely on the Holy Spirit to produce the self-control needed to overcome slothfulness.