No sitting on hands

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO SITTING ON HANDS

Prov 19:24

24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

NIV

There is nothing more honorable then to work for our sustenance. The scripture teaches us that if a man does not work he does not eat. It also gives us the instruction as to how we should deal with a person who is this sluggard spoken about here in this saying of Solomon.

2 Thess 3:6-15

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

NIV

The idea conveyed here as the sluggard putting his hands in his dish, or rather his bosom as the Hebrew word could mean, is the man who says he has some infirmity which prohibits him from work and thus he cannot feed himself and relies on others, society to support his life. It is not that he cannot work, he chooses a life of dependency rather than labor. This kind of laziness is likened to a man being so lazy he would not shake fire off himself. There are people in this world which have become so dependent upon the government they dare not work for fear of losing that support. There is no same in labor, in fact there is honor in following the commands of God. Because of the sin of Adam man has been told that by the sweat of his brow he will toil the ground all the days of his life. This sluggard would starve himself rather than labor. See, my hands, I am lame, I have to keep them in my coat, they are cold and unable to even take that food from the bowl to my mouth. Quite a contrast between what God has for a man, and what man has for himself. Although it seems in our society to care for the underprivileged, the downtrodden, as being a humanitarian response, it also can be self-serving so as to make as many people dependent upon the supplier of sustenance in order to control them so they keep that person in the position of the giver. There are those in positions of power who have created a complete social group of sluggards for their own benefit. This is so far from the truth of God. As Christians these people are in danger from their own sin, and should be warned as a brother. At the same time we should not have anything to do with them in the sense that we should not be like them. If we want to eat, we need to work for our food, not being dependent on others, but only on God. God has in the past rained down both manna and quail from heaven for the children of Israel as well as provided water from a rock for them. However we do find this may well have been for the purpose of a test rather than making them lazy. There is a twofold reason we are told about this test.

Deut 8:2-4

2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

NIV

Deut 8:15-18

5 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

NIV

Although we are to work, it is the Lord who provides us with the work. The honor in the labor is from knowing God has provided us with the means to labor, and has directed our paths to the labor of his choose for our lives. He gives us the abilities to labor. Each man according to his purpose. We all fit together in labor just as we do in the body of Christ. Our wealth is not of our own making, so pride should not be a part of our lives. Although we are not the sluggard as defined here, we are still dependent on God for every aspect of our lives. He provides us with the ability to labor and tests us as he did the Israelites to see if we will follow his commands and work by the sweat of our brow all the days of our lives. There is not a time we should be sitting around on our hands.