The wisdom that Solomon desires for his son is the wisdom that works. Wisdom worked from the beginning creating and ordering the world (Pr 3.19-20; 8.22-31). As the image of Wisdom, man is a worker, creating, ordering, and bringing productivity within the creation over which God set him to rule. We are world-makers, beginning with ordering the plot of creation that is uniquely ours–our own persons–and extending that dominion to wherever God grants us responsibility and authority.
God has created and commanded us to work. As Solomon’s son is moving into his maturity, the kingly stage of his life, Solomon is concerned that he understands his responsibilities as a worker and the tempting threats he will face as he fights the post-fall creation. Sin not only made the creation outside of man resistant to his dominion activity, but sin has also twisted man as a worker. We fight the curse of sin without and within.
One way in which our twisted nature as workers manifests itself is our battle with sloth. Though many times sloth reveals itself in what we understand as laziness, that is not its only manifestation. The sloth can be the busiest person you know. Sloth, you see, is hatred of and refusal to take up God-given responsibilities to bring order and productivity within the creation. These hated responsibilities can be avoided through inactivity or hyperactivity. The super-busy may be avoiding thinking about or doing what God has given him to do by over-scheduling just as much as the slug who doesn’t move from his bed. At root is a hatred of God-given responsibilities with all the limitations, restraints, accountability, and purpose that comes with them. The sloth hates his calling to work.
But God-ordained work is the way of wisdom and, therefore, the way of life. This work-wisdom is the glory of God that is impressed upon every aspect of creation (see e.g., Ps 19.1-6). Because we are images of God, we can and should see ourselves and patterns for our lives and work within the creation. It is for this reason that Solomon instructs the sluggard, the sloth, to “go to the ant … consider her ways, and be wise” (Pr 6.6). The ant, a small and seemingly insignificant insect, possesses greater wisdom than the “great man” who is a sloth. The sloth is a fool. That is not an indifferent personality trait, a non-sinful trait that some of us have and others don’t. Sloth is a sin, and when practiced with impenitence, it ends in eternal death. This is why the sloth should look at this little lady wisdom and see God’s glory of work manifested in her and imitate her ways.
The ant is a self-starter as opposed to being a slacker. She has no “chief, officer, or ruler” (Pr 6.7) hounding or pounding her all of the time. She does what she does because she has insight, a trait that Solomon desires for his son (Pr 1.2). Insight is the ability to see the long-term consequences of present actions. This should motivate to make decisions now that will prepare to meet future obligations. Work based on insight prepares food for the winter by gathering in the summer and not consuming everything in the present. Work based on insight prepares one’s soul today for the eternity that is sure to come. The diligent worker doesn’t need someone always holding his hand, reminding him of his responsibilities, “motivating” him to do what he sees must be done. Like the ant, he owns his responsibility and gets to work without moaning and groaning.
What is true in our generation has been true in some form or another throughout history when it comes to excuses as to why people avoid the difficult work that God has given them to do. “You know, some people are self-starters, but that’s just not my personality.” Solomon says, “Become one, sluggard!” “You don’t know how I feel. I have all of these feelings of inadequacy.” Solomon says, “Drag your feelings by faith to where they need to be. If you feel inadequate, that is a call for you to learn competence.” “I just don’t feel motivated.” Solomon says, “If by motivation you mean ‘excited about the work,’ who cares. Discipline yourself. Do. The. Work.”
Nowhere in Proverbs do we see Solomon having “feelings therapy” with his son. This doesn’t mean that he was not compassionate. Emotions are important, and they need to be dealt with. One way you deal with your emotions, however, is not to sit around and wallow in feelings. That is a manifestation of sloth. You are using your feelings as an excuse to disobey God. You have justified your sloth because of your feelings, but your feelings don’t justify your sloth. You discipline your emotions by doing what God has called you to do.
In order to weasel out of responsibility at times, the sloth starts wanting to know practical ways to deal with these issues. “How do I get up when the alarm goes off?” Good question. GET UP WHEN THE ALARM GOES OFF! Stop hitting the snooze. Go to bed and get enough sleep because you have insight concerning your responsibilities for the next day. There are no magic tricks that allow you to avoid some self-denial. No silver bullets. You just have to do it. Look at the ant. The ant doesn’t have her mother, dad, friend, elder, or pastor dragging her out of bed. This is because the ant is wise.
Solomon’s son needs to understand that you do not compromise with sloth. The sloth always wants just a “little more” rest when he should be working (Pr 6.10). He’s always delaying, never making firm commitments because he doesn’t want to be limited, bound, and accountable. These are little compromises here and there that eventually bury him in temporal and eternal poverty (Pr 6.11).
Go to the ant. Learn wisdom. Fight sloth, or it will kill you.
