Verse 15 – The Bible speaks of the fate of those who are lazy and idle. They can end up with no money to buy food and will go hungry. These scriptures also state that those who break the commandments and refuse instruction will die prematurely. As parents, we must instill good work habits in our children while they are young so they do not become lazy and slothful. Many of the younger generation were not taught proper work habits and now have difficulty in holding a job. Slothfulness, shoddy workmanship and disorganization reflect a lack of caring. Many people take short cuts that hamper the quality of the job, just to finish the task so they can eliminate any problems of the moment. Later the job must be repeated which wastes time because the job was not done right the first time. Children’s messy rooms are a symptom of how a generation of parents has neglected to teach their children this truth while they were growing up. Many of today’s children are taught to “play” instead of taught to work. The older generation has failed them by giving them an overabundance of toys, games, play times, and entertainment. Well-meaning parents have created a generation of extreme party and super vacation lovers. Certainly times of resting and relaxation are in order but they must be balanced with work.
Verse 16 – We take action upon whatever is important to us. Being slow to obey God’s Word means our ways are more important to us than His. Choosing God’s way or our way is a matter of fulfillment or frustration; blessing or cursing; life or death. Embracing deception makes us spiritually sleepy. When our spirits slumber, our lives become dreamlike; distorted shadows instead of clear reflections of reality. Just as we are unaware of what happens around us when we are physically sleeping, we become increasingly insensible to the enemy’s tactics and lies when spiritually sleepy. If we do not get up and get active (repent and apply God’s Word to our lives), we will soon be slumbering spiritually. We will be out of God’s will and our hearts will grow cold toward Him. Either the spiritual or physical condition is dangerous, especially in such days as ours, when deception is multiplied. We must not be slothful, but diligent to respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, Mark 13:33-37). Just as those who are lazy and refuse to work will not have money to buy food, we will suffer spiritual malnutrition and frustration if we are slow to obey God’s Word. As God’s children, we need to be careful to avoid an undisciplined lifestyle. If we do not learn to obey the Word of God early, it will lead to some form of death, possibly even a premature physical death.
