In college we joked about the biblical sluggard, especially the line as a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed (Proverbs 26:14). I quoted it to myself on icy winter mornings as I bundled up for a 7:40 am class. True confessions, I occasionally embraced the way of the sluggard and rolled over in bed. Too cold for physics.

It’s one thing to play the sluggard yourself and deal with the consequences. It’s another to depend on a sluggard and face frustration and disappointment. Solomon spoke to those in this situation:

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

Not long ago I found myself with a person who needed help, but couldn’t rouse themselves to join me in giving a hand.

I went about my task, all the while wondering, what is this person thinking? The lack of effort galled me—feeling like smoke in my eyes.

The sluggard, the lazy person, constantly annoys those who depend on them. A sluggard might work in some aspects, but only makes an concentrated effort when it benefits them. To go a step beyond and serve someone else proves too difficult. They tend to especially take advantage of friends and family.

It may take a while to understand a sluggard, or to identify such a laggard in your life. But when you do, remember they cannot be counted upon. Find someone else to help, or do the job yourself.

Avoid the frustration and disappointment found in a sluggard’s wake.

Proverbs 10:26 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Ayesh Rathnayake

I watched a father traveling with his wife and two preschool daughters schlepping luggage at the airport last night. After a ten hour flight from Munich, jet-lagged and exhausted, this dad loaded enough bags and car seats to make an assault on Everest. I hope this morning he’s enjoying a doughnut with his feet up.

Fathers enjoy this day of honor, but good fathers don’t stop doing the work. Some will fix bikes, give advice, or run the grill for dinner. That’s the glory of raising children. Fathers go to work.

I’m grateful for my father, long passed, who never stopped fathering me and my brothers. I’m also grateful for the many good men who’ve influenced my life, from grandfathers and uncles to bosses, co-workers and friends. Today we honor fathers of all types.

As a father, I earnestly pray to our Heavenly Father, asking for the prosperous flourishing of my children and grandchild. Today I call out these words of David:

May our sons in their youth be like well-watered plants, and our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace.

Because raising the next generations to adulthood, to love and serve the Lord, remains one of the great duties and privileges of fatherhood.

Psalm 144 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Tommaso Pecchioli