Laziness:-is the lack of desire to perform work or expend effort.
Jules Renald, defined laziness as nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
Another scholar defined it as the failure of a person to properly manage the time and resources God has provided to us. Because we will all have different skills and abilities, the quantity and quality of our work can never be a true indicator of dedication. The reason sin is abounding is simply because people are lazy. They slothful, idle, immobile, and inactive. Lazy people are believers. The unsaved people cannot be held accountable for something they never pledged to uphold. An atheist is obviously not going to be instructing others to walk in the statutes and ordinances of God.
Slothful means sluggish, that is, (literally) lazy, or (figuratively) stupid, dull.
Diligence:-Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking, steady effort (American Heritage Dictionary)
Consciousness in paying proper attention to a task, giving the degree of care required in a given situation.
Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken, persistent exertion of body or mind.
Benefits of Diligence and the Consequences of Laziness
Proverbs 10:4 “He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich”.(Proverbs 13:4)
A state of poverty is progressive in as much as the state of riches is progressive. This simply implies you either poorer or rich tomorrow than you were the day before depending on how you utilize your resources.
Being poor is not a result of not working or expending effort per se but rather how you work or expend the effort is the determining factor.
Proverbs 10:5 “He who gathers in summer is a wise son ,but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame”(Proverbs 10:26)
· Diligent people gather their cops meaning the diligent will always ensure that they do what they are supposed to do at the right time and in the write place.
· The lazy son sleeps during harvest meaning when all the opportunities have been presented for one to seize and scale to dizzy heights they choose to forgo.
· A sluggard is always an annoyance to the employer because they will never present a well done job e.g. it will be full of errors and lack innovativeness.
Proverbs 12:11 “He who tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who
follows worthless pursuits is lacking in sense and is without understanding”. (Proverbs 9:6,Proverbs 14:24).
· The food that you receive is determined by the quality and quantity of time you expend on your task. The Lord promises to bless the works of our hands hence it implies our effort to a task is some what a seed for great provisions.
· Laziness is also a sign of that one does not have a vision. If one is lazy it means they do not really know what they want in life and that which they are called to do because they would spend time pursuing that.
Proverbs 12:14 “From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good,
and the work of a man ‘s hands shall come back to him(as a harvest)” (Isaiah 3:10)
· The Lord blesses the works of our hand.
Proverbs 12:24 “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slothful will be put to
forced labour”
· Effective and efficient leadership is a product of diligence.
· Being lazy is a conscious and deliberate choice to become a slave either to those above you or to the circumstances and conditions of life.
Proverbs 12:27 “The slothful man does not catch his game or roast it once he kills it, but the diligent man gets precious possessions”
· Diligent people always make good use of their resources, that is, they spend and invest out of knowledge hence in turn enjoy the benefits.
· The lazy people are wasteful hence they do not even think of investment.
· The power is not in how many resources you have but rather on how much of the resources you have do you serve and invest.
7. Proverbs 14:23 “In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty”
· The diligent will always do things with excellence and in turn they get the rewards e.g. promotion, a student will pass exams, upliftment in one’s spiritual life etc.
· The lazy people say what they do not do, that is their talking is not expressed or exhibited by their work.
8. Proverbs 21:25-26 “The desire of the slothful kills him,but the(uncompromisingly
righteous gives and does not with hold.(II Corinthians 9:6-10)
· Lazy people will always be in want.
· The deligent are the givers.
· The lazy are always full of excuses as to why they are not performing or achieving.
Proverbs 20:13 “Love not sleep ,lest you come to poverty, open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread”
Diligent people sleep only when their assignments have been completed. Remember the Lord gives rest to those whom He loves that is rest comes after you have worked.
Pastor Tose Ndebele gave an illustration that if you are going to live for 60years and you sleep 8 hours a day effectively in your 60 years ,20(1/4) of them you will be sleeping hence unproductive. These 20 years do not include your child hood, eating, talking, etc.
Proverbs 21:5 “The thoughts of the (steadily) diligent tend only to plenteousness,
but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens to want”
· The diligent do have careful plans which are well thought hence not difficult to implement.
· The lazy people always make hasty short cut because they do not want to give due attention to a task at hand.
Ways of Maximising One’s Potential
1.Clearly identifying and defining your tasks.
It is one’s sole responsibility to write down what he or she will be doing each and every day and above all in the years to come.[Proverbs16:4,Habakuk2:2].
2.There is need for one to prioritise their individual tasks.
.The act of being busy does not guard us from being slothful.Inorder to be productive we need to assign priorities to our daily activities.
.Many people become lazy by making poor choices regarding their priorities hence in the end nothing comes out right.
.Follow and accomplish all that you have planned for the day in the order of their priorities.
.It will take discipline for one to carry out the scheduled task at the appropriate time and complete it at the desired time.
3.Managing your time and abilities.
.One is to rightfully divide his or her time and assign it to each and every task commensurate with the magnitude of the work to be undertaken.
.It takes one to know which task requires much of their time and then give them due recognition.
.Because we have a lifetime to accomplish what God expects of us ,the rate at which we go about tasks is not the central issue,but rather how well we do it within the stipulated time frame.
.The most vital component for achieving a fruitfull life is our willingness to contribute.
.The smallest effort over the longest period of time is worth 100 percent more than a continuous state of disengagement.
4.Involvement.
.One has to make a purposed decision that they are going to carryout the required task and right away do it.
5.Evaluation
.This means work carried out will have to be compared to the predetermined targets.
If they are plans for the year at the end of it there is need to identify what was achieved and what was not.
§There is need also to identify the reasons for non achievement in certain areas of one’s life.
6.Correction.
The deviations from the original scope of undertaking the works will have to be identified and effected.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Power of Giving: Part 1
Intoduction.
2 Corinthians 9:6-10
Verse 6 & 7 “[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgily,and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings. Let each one(give) as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”)giver (whose heart is in his giving).(Proverbs 22:9)
The reward or fruits of your giving do also depend on what you have given.
The bible says let each one give that means everyone can and has to give something.
One’s giving should also reflect their state of mind and heart, that is, one has to check whether they are not giving out of pride.
The giver always opens his or her eyes to the needs of the poor. A giver will never manifest poverty:-it is a state of the mind.
Verse 8 “And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation).
A giver has the responsibility of activating the grace of God so that it may abound in his or her life.
You gift will activate the favor and earthly blessing such that it does not matter under what conditions and circumstances are you leaving in God’s provisions will always be there for you.
The above verse also reflects that you cannot be a giver and walk in lack.
God will never reward you with what is enough for you only. At any given time a giver has something to share with someone who is in need hence that implies if you become a giver God will always grant you an opportunity to sow more seeds.
A giver is meant to be blessing to the people working around him or her.
It also explicitly shows there is no good work and charitable donation in which a giver should not participate in.
Verse 9 “As it is written: He(the benevolent person) scatters abroad ;He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure for ever(Psalms112:9.).
A giver always scatters abroad that is always looks out for opportunities to sow seeds.
A gift will leave your hand, but will never leave your life hence the effects of the seeds you sow everyday will always echo in your future.
Verse 10 “And [God] who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity]
It is fundamental for one to know that what you give or sow has been granted to you by God. That means whatever cannot meet your needs is a seed for you to walk in abundance.
In all that you receive when you have given there is a seed. It is one’s sole responsibility to discern or know (the leading of the Holy Spirit is also fundamental) that which constitutes the seed and that which is for food.
It is also important to know that at times the Holy Spirit can prompt you to give and explicitly show you ,to whom you are supposed to give.
It is also true that God always gives the seed to sow and above all give increase to the seed for the benefit of the sower.
It is also explicitly clear that one cannot give and fail to receive, that is if all the conditions pertaining to giving have been engaged.
God will always use someone as a point of contact for your reward.
The giver is not responsible for putting the increase on his or her seed, but rather he or she should relax and not wonder how and when the increase is coming. It is important to know that God is responsible for your reward only if the word of giving has been correctly applied.
It is clear that always what you give is less than what you receive. In other words you are also responsible for how much you will receive since it is correlated to what you give. Less emphasis put on the amount or quantity you give, but that determines the quality of your reward.
Note: You can also give your time, knowledge etc. just because giving is an expression of love.
2 Corinthians 9:6-10
Verse 6 & 7 “[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgily,and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings. Let each one(give) as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”)giver (whose heart is in his giving).(Proverbs 22:9)
The reward or fruits of your giving do also depend on what you have given.
The bible says let each one give that means everyone can and has to give something.
One’s giving should also reflect their state of mind and heart, that is, one has to check whether they are not giving out of pride.
The giver always opens his or her eyes to the needs of the poor. A giver will never manifest poverty:-it is a state of the mind.
Verse 8 “And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation).
A giver has the responsibility of activating the grace of God so that it may abound in his or her life.
You gift will activate the favor and earthly blessing such that it does not matter under what conditions and circumstances are you leaving in God’s provisions will always be there for you.
The above verse also reflects that you cannot be a giver and walk in lack.
God will never reward you with what is enough for you only. At any given time a giver has something to share with someone who is in need hence that implies if you become a giver God will always grant you an opportunity to sow more seeds.
A giver is meant to be blessing to the people working around him or her.
It also explicitly shows there is no good work and charitable donation in which a giver should not participate in.
Verse 9 “As it is written: He(the benevolent person) scatters abroad ;He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure for ever(Psalms112:9.).
A giver always scatters abroad that is always looks out for opportunities to sow seeds.
A gift will leave your hand, but will never leave your life hence the effects of the seeds you sow everyday will always echo in your future.
Verse 10 “And [God] who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity]
It is fundamental for one to know that what you give or sow has been granted to you by God. That means whatever cannot meet your needs is a seed for you to walk in abundance.
In all that you receive when you have given there is a seed. It is one’s sole responsibility to discern or know (the leading of the Holy Spirit is also fundamental) that which constitutes the seed and that which is for food.
It is also important to know that at times the Holy Spirit can prompt you to give and explicitly show you ,to whom you are supposed to give.
It is also true that God always gives the seed to sow and above all give increase to the seed for the benefit of the sower.
It is also explicitly clear that one cannot give and fail to receive, that is if all the conditions pertaining to giving have been engaged.
God will always use someone as a point of contact for your reward.
The giver is not responsible for putting the increase on his or her seed, but rather he or she should relax and not wonder how and when the increase is coming. It is important to know that God is responsible for your reward only if the word of giving has been correctly applied.
It is clear that always what you give is less than what you receive. In other words you are also responsible for how much you will receive since it is correlated to what you give. Less emphasis put on the amount or quantity you give, but that determines the quality of your reward.
Note: You can also give your time, knowledge etc. just because giving is an expression of love.
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