How
long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A
little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and
poverty will come
on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:9-11)
This
morning is a test of yesterday’s thought. Is a sluggard merely a lazy person,
or might it include a person who lives for today? At least using today’s passage,
the hedonist gets a pass. Only the lazy person seems to be involved. The
question for us, and for me especially, is whether or not our sleeping habits
are those of a sluggard.
So, what do we know about sleep? Are we sleepy sluggards? According to a Gallup poll from 2013, Americans average six point eight hours of sleep per night. Another poll claimed that twenty percent of Americans get less than six hours per night. In comparison, in 1910, Americans reported getting an average of nine hours of sleep per night. I suspect that ancient Israel was more like America in 1910 than America in 2018. So, how does today’s passage speak to us?
It may speak to us better than it spoke to Solomon’s son. In 2014, the CDC declared sleep deprivation a national epidemic, with over seventy million adults afflicted. In 2015, consumers spent forty-one billion dollars on sleeping products. It’s expected to rise to more than fifty billion by 2020.
In Solomon’s day, the idea was that if we chose sleep over work, we’d end up paupers. In today’s, the idea is that in seeking rest, we’re giving away the fruit of our labors, leaving us paupers without the energy or focus needed to gain the price of our freedom.
I don’t have a miracle solution. The only solutions that come to mind involve learning to live more healthfully by restoring our proper relationships with
1) God
2) the universe
3) ourselves
4) our families and friends
5) employers
6) anyone else in our lives.
Most of these involve good habits, eating, hydrating, exercising, resting. Most of those are a challenge for me at the moment. It’s a chaotic time of year, my schedule has been moved forward by two weeks, there are major life-changes taking place. I’m going to start trying to do better by focusing more on exercising and closing down so that I can be in bed at 11 pm.
So, what do we know about sleep? Are we sleepy sluggards? According to a Gallup poll from 2013, Americans average six point eight hours of sleep per night. Another poll claimed that twenty percent of Americans get less than six hours per night. In comparison, in 1910, Americans reported getting an average of nine hours of sleep per night. I suspect that ancient Israel was more like America in 1910 than America in 2018. So, how does today’s passage speak to us?
It may speak to us better than it spoke to Solomon’s son. In 2014, the CDC declared sleep deprivation a national epidemic, with over seventy million adults afflicted. In 2015, consumers spent forty-one billion dollars on sleeping products. It’s expected to rise to more than fifty billion by 2020.
In Solomon’s day, the idea was that if we chose sleep over work, we’d end up paupers. In today’s, the idea is that in seeking rest, we’re giving away the fruit of our labors, leaving us paupers without the energy or focus needed to gain the price of our freedom.
I don’t have a miracle solution. The only solutions that come to mind involve learning to live more healthfully by restoring our proper relationships with
1) God
2) the universe
3) ourselves
4) our families and friends
5) employers
6) anyone else in our lives.
Most of these involve good habits, eating, hydrating, exercising, resting. Most of those are a challenge for me at the moment. It’s a chaotic time of year, my schedule has been moved forward by two weeks, there are major life-changes taking place. I’m going to start trying to do better by focusing more on exercising and closing down so that I can be in bed at 11 pm.
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