When God casts Egypt into darkness, Goshen shines with an uncanny luster (Ex. 10:23), and the same is true of the present moment. Because Christians understand something of the true nature of work — that is, because we are (hopefully) labouring for the glory of God and the good of our neighbours — we have a unique opportunity, as Paul said, to “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). We can swing hammers, educate our children, build bridges, and weld machinery, knowing that in the Lord our labour “is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). Our sweat counts for more than a paycheque.

The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. (Proverbs 15:19)

In His wisdom, God has ordained that a strange and fitting irony harass the sluggard throughout the course of his life. This “curse,” we may call it (for so it is), is not mean-spirited nor is it intended for his destruction, but it does nevertheless cling to him like a burr under the collar and cause about as much annoyance as one might expect such a thing to do. This irony, plainly stated, consists in this: that all the sluggard’s attempts to secure ease and comfort for himself, in the end, only ever produce the opposite effect. Like Wile E. Coyote’s futile pursuit of the Road Runner, the sluggard’s pursuit of ease and simplicity only results in compounding frustration. Sleep and slumber lead to poverty and destruction (Prov. 6:11), folding of the hands to misery and death (Eccl. 4:5). No matter what the sluggard does, he cannot escape his fate. His way is as a hedge of thorns, while the upright walk on an open highway (Prov. 15:19).

This, of course, is not at all what the sluggard thinks he is doing. His excuses appear eminently reasonable to his own mind. But it’s worth remembering that the final analysis will not be conducted on the basis of vague and airy notions concerning the number of lions there may or may not have been in the street (Prov. 26:13). Rather, judgment will take place upon the objective and naked reality of a life and its fruits — or lack thereof. Thus, at the end of it all, the sluggard will have nothing to hide behind and nothing to point to as a justification for his avoidance of responsibility.

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