The Dangerous Sleep of Laziness - Proverbs 19:15

Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger. Proverbs 19:15

Laziness will come to haunt a man.  The effects of laziness are not immediately apparent - but in time they will show themselves.  The word "laziness" here is the Hebrew word 'atslah' and it means to be sluggish, indolent, and lazy and describes someone who is in a state and attitude of doing nothing.  Since the word idolent is not used much any more it might help to know that it means to be averse to activity, effort, or movement. 

The "deep sleep" into which one is cast due to laziness is the same word that was used when God put Adam into a deep sleep to create Eve from a rib He took from Adam's side.  This word is used figuratively here to speak of a moral and spiritual stupor which is how Isaiah uses it in Isaiah 29:10, "For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers."  In Isaiah the idea is that the deep sleep was spiritual and resulted in the people being completely blind to spiritual realities and the warnings they needed to heed to prevent disaster in their lives. 

The second half of this passage presents an interesting thing to us.  The Hebrew speaks not just of a sure consequence of laziness, but of a hunger that must come upon the lazy person to that they will eventually work.  The idle man will or must suffer hunger.  That is the idea here.  He won't get up and work and will continue in his aversion to activity and action - until hunger strikes and makes him get up and work.  This is Scriptural for the New Testamant tells us plainly, "If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat either." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)  

God's Word is not a great friend to a welfare state.  The Scriptures tell us to work - and to do what we do with all our might.  Work existed before the Fall of man - and it has always has been a good thing to have a godly work ethic.   We are told to help the poor - but we are not counselled to put them in a state of continual dependency.  This mistake will result in them becoming lazy in the end - and thinking that the state owes them a living.  I realize that such words are very incindiary in our world - and I do not use them toward those who have genuine disabilities that prevent them from working.  But the wise man knows that a laziness that is encouraged is one that will not only cause hunger - but it will blind the person to spiritual truth as well.  We would do well not to encourage it in our children - or our nation.