Read
Proverbs 12:24
Proverbs 19:15
Ecclesiastes 10:18
Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
but the diligent man will get precious wealth.
Proverbs 12:27
Reflect
A lot of animals are known for some very cool traits. See if you can match the animals to what makes them famous:
- Cheetah
- Giraffe
- Elephant
- Lion
- Zebra
- Leopard
- Stripes
- Mane
- Spots
- Trunk
- Fast
- Tall
For anyone who’s ever seen animals, that was probably very easy. But can you say what makes the sloth famous? It’s not usually seen as something positive, and especially not in the Bible.
The sloth was famous, or infamous, for being incredibly slow. Sloths move at a top speed of 1.2 miles per hour, but they’re usually much slower than that. This video gives a great idea of just how slow they are. (At the end, a guy ends up picking the sloth up to move it across the road so that cars can pass – and so the sloth won’t get killed!)
Depending on the Bible version you read, you’ll find the word “sloth” (or a related word) up to 17 times. It’s never a good thing. Sloth is equated with laziness and wastefulness. Slothful people get nothing done and, in fact, end up allowing the things around them to be destroyed. In the four verses selected for today, slothful people:
- Are forced into slavery
- Allow their food to go to waste.
- Sleep their days away.
- Go hungry.
- See their house fall in around them.
The Bible warns against sloth, but it also encourages being a good worker. In some of these same verses, godly people:
- Are diligent.
- Get wealthy.
- Are given responsibility.
Which one do you want to be? Only through hard work and following God will you get the kind of life that lives in your dreams. This week, when you’re tempted to put off some task or tasks that need to be finished, resist the temptation to be slothful. Instead, pray that the Lord will give you the strength to be a diligent and godly person and that He’ll see you through to the end.
Reflection copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
