Proverbs 22:13

The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!"

He does have a point. We may not worry about lions, but there are cars and trucks that could hit us. It may be best not to go outside to work. And, for that matter, there are dangers in the home – tripping down the stairs, stumbling over shoes or stepping on a ball. It may be best to remain in bed. Too bad the sluggard in Solomon's day did not have TV and a remote. Today's sluggard does not even have to come up with excuses for not doing work. The distraction of 24 hour television with literally hundreds of channels saves him from having to think up rationalizations for lying in bed or the couch. He can get by with the dull thought of "I'll get up in just a minute."

Peter tells us that there is actually a lion out there ready to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). The problem is that he is also within our home, even within our room, even under the bedcovers! Whatever imaginary lions the sluggard has to keep him from doing something with his life, he should be taking into account this very real lion – Satan – who is devouring his very soul. Inactivity is a killer of the soul; for we were made to act, to produce, to glorify our Maker through being makers in his image.

Whether healthy or ill; whether bold or timid, do whatever God has given you the ability to do that he might be glorified. Who knows, maybe today you will meet a lion in the streets and slay him!

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