The Sluggard Within

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The Sluggard Within

• How to wreck everything without doing a thing.

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Sluggard

• The Hebrew root is ???
• Used 16 times in Proverbs and 2 times elsewhere
  (Judges and Ecclesiastes)
• The Context of these verses give us a clear
  picture of what this word means.
• Sluggard Slug"gard\, n. Slug -ard. A person
  habitually lazy, idle, and inactive a drone.
  Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

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Proverbs 66-11

• 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard        consider
  its ways and be wise!
• 7 It has no commander,        no overseer or
  ruler,
• 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer       
  and gathers its food at harvest.
• 9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
         When will you get up from your sleep?
• 10 A little sleep, a little slumber,        a
  little folding of the hands to rest-
• 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
         and scarcity like an armed man.

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What is the Sluggard Like?

• Procrastinator

• 69-11 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.

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What is the Sluggard Like?

• Procrastinator
• Excuse Maker

• 2613
• The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the
  road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!"

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What is the Sluggard Like?

• Procrastinator
• Excuse Maker
• Sleeper

• 2614
• As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard
  turns on his bed.

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What is the Sluggard Like?

• Procrastinator
• Excuse Maker
• Sleeper
• Foolish

• 2430-31 I went past the field of the sluggard,
  past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment
  thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was
  covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in
  ruins.

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What the Sluggard Gets

• Thorns

• 1519
• The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,
  but the path of the upright is a highway.

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What the Sluggard Gets

• Thorns
• Hunger

•  1915
• Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the
  shiftless man goes hungry.

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What the Sluggard Gets

• Thorns
• Hunger
• Poverty

•  134
• The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the
  desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

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What the Sluggard Gets

• Thorns
• Hunger
• Poverty
• Bad Reputation

•  1026
• As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so
  is a sluggard to those who send him.

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What the Sluggard Gets

• Thorns
• Hunger
• Poverty
• Bad Reputation
• Forced Labor

• 1224
• Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in
  slave labor.

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The Sluggards Heart

• Self-seeking 
• 2125 The sluggard's craving will be the death of
  him, because his hands refuse to work.

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The Sluggards Heart

• Pleasure seeker 
• 1924 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish
  he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

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The Sluggards Heart

• No concern about what happens next 
• 1227 The lazy man does not roast his game, but
  the diligent man prizes his possessions.

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Proverbs 2613-16

• 13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the
  road,        a fierce lion roaming the streets!"
  
• 14 As a door turns on its hinges,        so a
  sluggard turns on his bed.
• 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish
         he is too lazy to bring it back to his
  mouth.
• 16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes       
  than seven men who answer discreetly.

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Serious Business

• Seven Deadly Sins

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Serious Business

• Diligence
• Zeal

• Seven Deadly Sins
• Opposites

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Serious Business

• Seven Deadly Sins
• Opposites
• Battle between our sinful nature and the Spirit

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Breakout Groups
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Foundation

• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
  knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and
  discipline. Proverbs 17

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Discussion Categories

• A. The Sluggard and His Relationship with God
• B. The Sluggard Husband
• C. The Sluggard Pastor
• D. The Sluggard Church

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1. Proverbs 66 Go to the ant, you sluggard
consider its ways and be wise.

• A good use of the time and talents God has given
  us, in other words, activity and work are the
  goals for which we aim. We want to be like the
  ant, not the slug.

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• The question to discuss
• What would be the diligent task(s) we would carry
  out with zeal if we werent sluggards in this
  category?

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2. Proverbs 1519 The way of the sluggard is
blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright
is a highway. Proverbs 1026 As vinegar to
the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard
to those who send him.

• The sluggards path brings hardship and problems,
  both for himself and those that count on him.

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• The questions to discuss
• What problems or hardships do we face in this
  category? What problems do we cause others?

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3. Proverbs 2213 The sluggard says, There is a
lion outside! Or, I will be murdered in the
streets!

• The sluggard may think there are very good
  reasons not to do something.

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• The questions to discuss
• What faulty reasons might be given not to be
  diligent in this category? Are there any good
  reasons?

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4. Proverbs 2614 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.

• There are useless uses of time that get in the
  way of diligent work.

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• The question to discuss
• What sluggardly challenges besides our bed get
  in the way of diligence in this category?

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5. Proverbs 2616 The sluggard is wiser in his
own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

• The sluggard can be so full of himself and the
  ease of life he craves, that he fails to heed the
  wisdom and advice of others.

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• The question to answer
• In what ways can the sluggard be blind to the
  reality of his failures in this category and what
  can we do to help?

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• Can somebody be busy yet still be a sluggard?
• Is being a sluggard the problem or is it just a
  matter of balancing priorities properly?

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Can you help?

• I always leave conference
• feeling guilty about all the
• things I am not doing well.