Laziness Is Pride

“The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;   it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.” (Proverbs 26:15)

What a weird thing this proverb is! Have you ever seen someone actually do this? Of course, not. But it does demonstrate a truism about the lazy man. Let me explain.

There is no good reason to be lazy. You cannot find a verse to “back that play.” Laziness is condemned all over the Book of Proverbs (10:4-5, 26; 12:24, 27; 13:4; 15:19; 19:15, 24; 20:4, 13-15; 21:25-26; 22:13; 24:30-34; 26:13-16).

Being lazy is prideful inactivity.

Laziness is not usually a word we describe someone who gets things done. So, someone who picks up a piece of food and doesn’t put it into their mouth is most certainly lazy. They don’t complete tasks and, more importantly, they don’t complete the most important tasks.

What I believe Solomon is saying is that a lazy man will not do the most important things. He may have a list of 10 things to do in a day but only complete the least important things.

Laziness does not know how to prioritize and won’t prioritize. Laziness is an outflow of a prideful heart. Laziness is the epitome of telling yourself, “I don’t or won’t do what I should do.” That comes from a prideful heart.

The simple key to reversing lazy thinking it humility. It is remembering that God told us that we should put other people before ourselves (Phil 2:3-4). The cure to a lazy heart is serving others and viewing people as more important than yourself. In short, It’s having a righteous list of priorities and completing the most important ones first.