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Sluggard

             A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly. (Proverbs 26:13-16)

          Sluggard: a habitually lazy person

          Recently, someone said that a sluggard isn’t just a lazy person. It’s a person who basically believes that nothing matters. There’s no reason to bother.  I’m not quite comfortable with that depiction, partly because of the first verse above. Clearly, the sluggard has at least some sense that his/her life matters. Perhaps it would be better to say that the sluggard believes they don’t matter, or that nothing is going to make things better. In other words, a sluggard might be lazy, or they might be hopeless.

          Looking at today’s passage, that doesn’t seem to be the entire story. There may be more than one kind of sluggard or more than one reason for sluggardliness. It may be associated with irrational fears, or it may make excuses. I’ve sometimes said that if you’re determined to reject the truth, any lie will do. In this case, if you’re determined to reject responsibility, any excuse will do.

A sluggard also sees himself as wise. One of the questions that comes to mind is whether the sluggard believes that if he/she doesn’t do whatever, someone else will do it. Someone else will take care of them, possibly to the point of treating them like an infant. It is an escape from responsibility.

So, being a sluggard isn’t necessarily as easy as just not wanting to work. This brings to mind a saying I hear sometimes: “Even God can’t steer a parked car.” The person who doesn’t put the car in gear is a sluggard, according to this idea. But there can be reasons other than not being ne gear that prevent the car from going. It could need fuel, oil, or water/coolant. It might need its tires changed or pumped up. Something might be wrong with the engine. There might be reasons for sluggardly behavior. But it should be addressed, not allowed to continue.

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