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Sluggard?

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

            A sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”  (Proverbs 26:13) 

            According to the dictionary, a sluggard is a lazy, slow-moving, inactive person, but that’s not what these verses suggest. They suggest that the sluggard is the person who makes excuses. There are thorns…there is a lion… there is some reason why it’s just not safe or possible to do something. COVID-19 is out there… people are shooting into groups of people…  publishing companies aren’t willing to even look at a book sent in by someone who isn’t already a best-selling author…. I’m too young, old, tired, inexperienced, over-experienced, female, male, white, black, some other color, uneducated, educated, uncreative, etc. Feel free to add to the list. There’s always some reason why it’s no use even trying. Best to stay home and not risk further rejection, abuse, or danger.  

            A couple stories from my past come to mind:  removing a bougainvillea from someone’s garden and pulling the thorns out of my shoes with pliers, riding my bike past a groundhog who decided to show me how big and dangerous he was, and going back to school to earn my MBA. And as the foundation to all of those, God asked me about a long list of decisions I’ve made in which He didn’t let me miss my “exit.”  It’s incredible how God has made highways for me.

            But… market or sell my books? Or my crafts, or my jellies and jams?  Make friends? Take on another project? Actively try to lose weight or get into better shape? But I’m soo tired. I’ve already got too much to do. It’s too hard. Oh, the excuses flow freely, and they aren’t entirely unjustified, at least in my mind. Is a sluggard someone who makes excuses to avoid doing anything? Or is a sluggard someone who makes excuses about doing what the sluggard doesn’t want to – regardless of the activity level. In fact, the level of activity may be just another “lion in the streets” or thorns. If there were something I wanted to do, how quickly would the other activity matter far less?

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