It's Summer, and I Can't Get Up

The sluggard says, "There is 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. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

—Proverbs 26:13-16

Maybe it’s different for you, but when I was in school -- especially middle school and early high school -- summer could be kind of challenging. I loved the freedom of not having every square inch of my calendar booked every day. I could sleep in. I could watch a little TV. Sometimes, I even had the whole house to myself. Getting dressed? Optional. Yeah, I had to work, but my free time was still way more free than during the school year.

I loved that freedom. But after a few weeks, I started to notice something about myself. With nothing to do, I tended to do nothing much in particular. And the more I did nothing, the more nothing I wanted to do. “Hey, Chris, want to come and help with that thing at church?” “Nah.” “Hey, Chris, everybody’s going over to the place with the deal.” “Eh.”

When I absolutely had to go do something, it was like pulling a tree stump out of the ground to get myself off of the couch. My parents had a hitch attached to their minivan just so they could drag me loose with a tow rope.

I bet you know that feeling, too. When you’re sunk down low in the couch cushions and the remote is out of reach so you just keep watching what’s on even though you hate it. When you seriously think about not getting up to go to the bathroom because it’s just too much trouble. When you become a genius at thinking up good reasons NOT to do things.

The Bible calls this being a “sluggard,” at least in the NIV version. I like the KJV word better because it sounds like what it is: “sloth.” Say it in your head really slow and you can almost feel it.

We don’t think of that experience as particularly evil, but these and other Proverbs by Solomon mock the slothful sluggard as a kind of a fool.

v. 13: “I can’t go anywhere right now; I heard there’s a lion roaming the streets. Much too dangerous. Where are the cheese doodles?”

v. 14: “I really should get up. Maybe if I roll over. Oh, that’s really comfortable. I’ll just lie here for a minute.” Pause. “I really should get up. Maybe if I roll over. Oh, what’ll it hurt to hit the snooze button one more time.”

v. 15: This guy found the motivation to get his hand to the food, but lost it before he could get his hand to his mouth.

v. 16: “Oh, those poor fools out there doing all that stuff, working so hard, getting things done. What’s the point? They just don’t see life as clearly as I do. Now, seriously, where are those cheese doodles? Mom!”

We all need down time once in a while, but it’s no accident sloth is listed as one of the seven deadly sins. Once you slide into it, it’s like quicksand. Getting out and back into a worthwhile frame of mind becomes harder and harder. Some people never fully escape, and their lives slowly crumble away for lack of attention.

The problem with slothiness is that it’s like an anchor that keeps us from leading lives that really matter. A group of Israelites encouraged others not to let sloth keep them from claiming what God had promised them. (Judges 18:9) In His parable about the talents, the man who buried his instead of doing something with it was condemned for his sloth. (Matthew 25:26) And the writer of Hebrews begged his readers to be diligent in continuing to follow Jesus. (Hebrews 6:12)

Enjoy your summer. Sleep in a little. Watch a little TV. Have some cheese doodles. But kick yourself hard in the shin if you suddenly realize all you want to do is nothing much most of the time. The great thing about freedom is what you can do with it -- not what you can NOT do. Make a plan for those extra hours and do something useful or fun or interesting with them. You’ll feel better in the long run. Really.