Loving Sleep! Proverbs 20:13

Do not love sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.  Proverbs 20:13

There are several ways that the Bible refers to laziness.  Some are very pointed like when God speaks of the sluggard or the lazy man.  This one however speaks of someone who loves their sleep - too much.  As a result of this love of sleeping - they wind up lazy, poor, and possibly hungry.

Do not love sleep.  That is the command that is given here.  It is not a sin to sleep - God even promises in the psalms that He will give sleep to His beloved.  There is a difference between enjoying a good night's sleep and just loving to sleep whenever we can.  One is necessary while the other is a sure sign of laziness.  You cannot love sleep and love God at the same time.

Two different times the concept of oversleeping or loving sleep is used to rebuke the laziness of the sluggard.  Proverbs 6:9 tells the sluggard to get up from his sleep.  Proverbs 6:10 and 24:33 both say that a little sleep, slumber, and excess rest and poverty and problems will come in like a robber and an armed man.  Loving to sleep is a dangerous thing to embrace.  God desires for us to be good, motivated workers.  When we do not embrace work - we will most likely embrace sleeping and laziness. 

The other warning here is that when we become lazy - we will also be in danger of becoming poor - even the point of not having food to eat.  Poverty is often the reward for the lazy - as is hunger.  That is why a welfare system that does not require work of some kind for the benefits received is a blight on the work ethic of any country.  If there are benefits - they must be tied to some kind of work.  When we do not do this we are promising a lifestyle to those who receive it that does not require them to work.  They can love their sleep - and be paid for it.  They can be idle - and still receive money and benefits.  This will build an entire class of society that will begin to expect something for nothing.  That will be devastating to that societies ability to produce things and profit from them.  It will also be a tremendous drain on the character of the society as well.

God's answer to this is the call us to wake up and work.  He calls us to wake up and work hard.  He wants us to labor with our hands - not just to provide for the needs of our families and ourselves - but Scripture also says that our hard work is to be so that we can also have something to share with the ones who are in need.  But the Word also states that in the times when we have abundance - it is to help meet the needs of others - but it also says there will be other times when the abundance of others will be given to provide for our needs.  God's point here is that hard work is not an option - but a necessity for a society.  Without it we will become lazy and undisciplined.  Without hard work we will lack character and will most likely get in trouble with the abundance of free time we have.  Why be poor and hungry - both physically and spiritually?  Wake up - and work hard for your food, for your health, and for your character.