Snooze! - A Sign of Laziness

Proverbs 26:14-16 -As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth. Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.(NLT)

Every now and then the Bible throws up direct and specific rebukes that we cannot spiritualise or ignore. As James describes the word of God is like a mirror.

James 1:23-24 - For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. (NLT)

In today’s passage, I am sure many of us see ourselves. Most of us, either hit snooze on our alarm clocks or when we naturally wake up earlier than we would like, we head back to sleep. But in this passage, we are seeing that this may indeed be a sign of laziness! (Sigh!)

So, what do we next? As we saw in our last reading, God has given us a spirit of self-discipline according to 2ndTimothy 1:7.

2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (NLT)

It is now up to us to walk in that gift. Maybe that looks like going to sleep earlier the night before? Maybe that looks like setting an alarm to remind us to wind down for bed earlier? Maybe that means switching off our phones or laptops earlier in the night before so we get into bed earlier?

Why does this even matter? If you are reading this, I suspect it is because you want to make the most of your time and use the gifts the Lord has given you to the best of your potential. For many of us, getting up at the last-minute means we often do not have enough time in our day to do this. We may struggle to find time for a quiet time with the Lord, exercise to remain healthy, plan our days or work on a project the Lord has placed in our hearts.

However, if we can utilise our mornings we may find that not only do we feel better about our days but we may also accomplish more of what we believe the Lord has created us to do.

Questions to think about: Do I turn over in my bed, push the snooze button or wake up just when I have to? What can I do the night before to change this? Have I prayed and asked God to help me embrace his gift of self-discipline?