Lazy, lazy, lazy

No likes a good nap as much as I do.  Some may contest that, but I’m certainly in the running for the platform.  Particularly on a cold, overcast day, right after lunch around 1PM.  Open the windows for the fresh air, and let me wrap up in a blanket to keep warm with my dog on the floor beside the bed, and the faint sound of Bob’s football in the other room.  And I’m gone.

Is anyone yawning yet?

No one’s going to contest much about the restorative properties of a midday nap.  It’s certainly better than caffeine (okay, some would contest that), and can give us that needed boost in our energy if used correctly. 

HOWEVER, there is another kind of napping that is not so productive.  Like falling asleep at the wheel of your car.  (Mmmmm….not so good.)  Actually, napping without the purpose of rejuvenation just turns into slothfulness, which can become not only counter-productive, but downright wasteful and damaging to those around us.  I can pull all the dandelions I can in my yard, but if my neighbor doesn’t do the same, I’ll still have little yellow things popping up where I don’t want them.  (In reality, I’m not that picky; if anything, it would be the other way around.)

Here’s what one very wise person observed:

“I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.  I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.  It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.  Then, as I looked and thought about it,  I learned this lesson:  A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

This is certainly true about gardens.  (Ask me how I know….)  More importantly, it is an astutely accurate description of what happens in our spiritual lives as well.  As a Christian, I must take responsibility for my own spiritual garden, or personal growth in my relationship with my Father.  It’s not up to the pastor, or anyone else for that matter.  There is absolutely no room for victimhood’s blaming about my past or present circumstances, or how cruddy my “neighbor’s garden” is, perhaps those with whom I may work or live or sweat next to at the Y.

My heart and mind are my choice, and like my garden, tending them take time and effort.  Neglecting the disciplines of prayer, study, and fellowship, “taking a rest break” so to speak, can cause a surprise of spiritual scarcity.  Not good when you go to open the frig and suddenly realize nothing’s in there.

I’m going to try to keep up with those so my cupboards are full.

On the lighter side, today is rainy, gray, cool, and I happen to have a day off with no one else around, but my dog.  I have a plan for around 1PM today. 

 

Proverbs 24: 30-34 Tyndale House Publishers Inc (2008-06-01). The One Year Bible NLT (One Year Bible: Nlt Book 2)