The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 20:4
King Solomon had plenty to say about the “sluggard,” or the habitually lazy person. The sluggard makes only one commitment: to his leisure. He’ll try any excuse to shy away from honest labor.
The sluggard in the physical sense does nothing for the world around him; he leaves it unchanged, except for pillaging some of its resources. The sluggard in the spiritual sense is little different; he leaves the world no better than he found it, and perhaps a little poorer. When leaders become lazy and lose their diligence in doing good for God, they become spiritual sluggards and worthless to the Kingdom.
Wise leaders know their time is limited. They know they have no way to retrieve misused or wasted time. Jesus stressed this when He said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Leaders in the Body of Christ must remain diligent in doing good and in encouraging others to do likewise.
It Takes a Team
I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. Numbers 11:14
God’s answer to Moses’ cry for help was for Moses to share the responsibilities of leadership with a select group. We don’t know a lot about the seventy elders Moses called to aid him. The Old Testament mentions them only twice, both times to witness God’s presence, power, and glory (Exodus 24). But the second time the elders are called, God expanded their role. This time they were called to participate-thus revealing something remarkable about how God works with leaders. “I will take the Spirit that is upon you,” God told Moses, “and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone” (Numbers 11:17).
When a leader called by God has a burden that becomes too great, God provides help . . . if the leader will ask for it. Not only will the Lord provide helpers to share the load, He will anoint them with His power, just as He did the seventy elders of Israel.
[tags]Sluggard, Laziness, God, Leadership, Teamwork[/tags]