There was a time in our society when industriousness and providing for one’s own were the norm. But through the years things have changed, and many people now have a distorted view of work, believing wrongly that work is punishment, which has led to a sense of entitlement. It is true that after sin entered the world God told Adam, “In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.” (Genesis 3:19) But before Adam had sinned God’s word said, “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.” (Genesis 2:5) Therefore, tilling the ground, sowing the seed and working the earth at his feet was always a part of God’s plan for man. Work is good for it is honorable, just as God had shown through His work in creating the universe. The godly woman of Proverbs 31 is a busy woman of whom is said, “She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.” (Proverbs 31:27)
An idle brain is the Devil’s workshop is not exactly Scripture (it is actually a quote from a man named H. G. Bohn in 1855), although it does teach a Scriptural message. The Wise Writer said in Proverbs 19:15, “Laziness plunges a man into deep sleep, and the sluggard must go hungry.” This agrees completely with what Paul told the church at Thessalonica when he wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If any will not work, neither let him eat.” Idleness was one of the sins specified by God in Ezekiel 16:49 that brought about the destruction of Sodom: “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”
I believe we overlook idleness, laziness and being a busybody to our detriment. Gossip is the result of an individual having too much idle time on his or her hands, and it is verbal violence committed against another. It is also soundly condemned in Scripture: “You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:16) “He who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who speaks foolishly.” (Proverbs 20:19) “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness and sin, of greed and hate, envy, murder, fighting, lying, bitterness, and gossip.” (Romans 1:29)
Idleness, not working, and gossiping all go hand-in-hand. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:11, “For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies.” And Peter shows just how grievous this sin is by comparing it to those who commit even murder when he said in 1 Peter 4:15, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.” Work, what God always desired for mankind, is the cure.
An idle brain is the Devil’s workshop is not exactly Scripture (it is actually a quote from a man named H. G. Bohn in 1855), although it does teach a Scriptural message. The Wise Writer said in Proverbs 19:15, “Laziness plunges a man into deep sleep, and the sluggard must go hungry.” This agrees completely with what Paul told the church at Thessalonica when he wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If any will not work, neither let him eat.” Idleness was one of the sins specified by God in Ezekiel 16:49 that brought about the destruction of Sodom: “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”
I believe we overlook idleness, laziness and being a busybody to our detriment. Gossip is the result of an individual having too much idle time on his or her hands, and it is verbal violence committed against another. It is also soundly condemned in Scripture: “You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:16) “He who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who speaks foolishly.” (Proverbs 20:19) “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness and sin, of greed and hate, envy, murder, fighting, lying, bitterness, and gossip.” (Romans 1:29)
Idleness, not working, and gossiping all go hand-in-hand. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:11, “For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies.” And Peter shows just how grievous this sin is by comparing it to those who commit even murder when he said in 1 Peter 4:15, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.” Work, what God always desired for mankind, is the cure.
May the Lord bless you and yours!
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