I’m sure we’ve all seen it – one or two people actually working – while the vast majority are standing or sitting around doing nothing.  While it has always been sinful human nature to be lazy – certainly the death of the famous Protestant Work Ethic has elevated sluggishness to a lifestyle – perhaps even an art form. 

Proverbs 10:26

 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,

Bitter and burning – that is what the sluggard is to employers and those in authority.  And the taste of vinegar is long lasting and memorable – as is smoke in the eyes.  Never will the sluggard be looked on in any other way, than as a sluggard or potential sluggard. 

So is the sluggard to them that send him.

Do we really want the world to see believers that way?  Think about that word – sluggard.  Not at all a pleasant image to think about.   And it is also unpleasant to recognize,  that the sluggard does not only hurt himself and the image of the church – he leaves a slime trail. 

Which means that though the sluggard is being self indulgent, he really is leaving a sticky trap behind him for others to see where he’s been,  where he is going, and where to follow. . .

There are so many behaviors that qualify as sluggish, in the church, it would be impossible to list them all here.  We could fully embrace the Lord’s perfection, and even recognize such sins as adultery and gluttony as sluggishness.  For example, the lazy spouse will seek outside relationships, or even internet pornography, rather than working on their marriage.  A sluggish body will eat copious amounts of easily obtained foods, rather than prepare healthy foods to eat – because the preparation (planning, shopping, cooking) requires effort and – work. 

We are to blame for the situations we find ourselves in.  Bad decisions are one thing – and sluggishness is its evil twin.  Let us strive to put our best foot forward – and show to the sinful, fallen world, the radiance of a Holy Spirit filled life, and reflect outwards –  the Light of the Son.