Proverbs 19:15

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about laziness:

Proverbs 19:15 (ESV)

Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,

and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Living for self or in the fear of God seems to be man's choice and each has their own destiny. In 19:15 we see the fate of the lazy soul who only cares for his/her rest and/or relaxation.  What is the result of such a life?  He/she goes hungry. But, in 19:23 we see the contrast:

Proverbs 19:23 (ESV)

The fear of the LORD leads to life,

and whoever has it rests satisfied;

he will not be visited by harm.

The man that fears God is able to sleep at night and is completely satisfied. It seems the choice is ours: Hunger or Satisfaction. Which do you choose? The proverb goes on to tell us that not only does laziness produce a poor quality of life, but it is self-propitiating in that regard - it casts us into a deep sleep.   If you sleep long enough to be hungry when you wake up you have slept a long time.  Here too, laziness is a like a long nap, but instead of waking up to find food and ready to eat, the idle man gets nothing.    Laziness is both depriving us of something and manipulating at the same time.  It puts a sleep on us that provides no rest but rather emptiness and more sleep.  The cycle is endless.  The only way to break from the cycle is through the fear of the Lord and the wisdom that fearing the Lord can bring.