Laziness has been the chain around my feet for years.
I don’t know why or when it started. Maybe I was always like this. But I do know it only got worse and worse and worse.
As with any other sin, we are always aware of it. We know it’s there. We hate it and crave it at the same time. Only thing is the craving for it seems to almost always win out.
Now, I haven’t done a whole lot of research on whether laziness is actually a sin or not, but I can honestly say that at the extent I have lived in it – laziness is definitely my biggest sin.
I draw the conclusion that laziness is a sin from this article and the Bible references it gives. (This is something I really want to research more in depth, but for now this article brought a lot of clarity.)
Fighting laziness is really a difficult battle because the comfort you receive when you first embrace it feels so satisfying.
Laying on the couch, scrolling through Instagram, bingeing a show all day while eating your favorite snacks? That is my type of day. I love to do nothing. I really do. In fact, I’ve found it true that,
“Doing nothing often leads to the very best something.”
Though he may be a bear of very little brain, Winnie The Pooh has lots of wisdom to share. 😉
Yet while I really love to do nothing…I also hate it. There are a million things I want or need to do, places I want to be in life, and yet I’m sitting here in the comfort zone of laziness. I’m watching all my duties and dreams pile up as my time slowly wastes away – and I’m feeling more miserable by the second. I don’t want to spend my entire life like this. I know there’s more to my life than doing nothing. And yet here I sit, watching the days go by as I continue to do nothing. Though I’m doing this completely by choice, the deeper I find myself in the bondage of laziness, the more I begin to hate my life.
“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.” ~ Proverbs 13:4
My laziness affects:
1. My physical health. (No exercise, skipping brushing my teeth, etc.)
2. My mental health. (It causes depression, bitterness, and anxiety.)
3. My spiritual health. (Being too lazy to read God’s Word? *raises hand*)
Laziness has damaged my health in all areas. It’s even made me skip meals. I become depressed, bitter, and anxious because I’m doing nothing with my life and I hate it.
I didn’t know how to climb out of this pit I was in. The thought of letting go was anxiety inducing because like I said, as much as I hated the laziness, I also loved it. I wanted to give it up and do the right thing… but I didn’t because it was too hard.
“As a door turns on its hinges, So does the lazy man on his bed.” ~ Proverbs 26:14
Laziness, worst of all, damaged my spiritual health. I grew too lazy to read my Bible or even say a prayer and I was no longer keeping up with my Bible Study book. I was disconnected from God, but I still felt Him with me – He was calling me to Him and calling me out of this lazy lifestyle. There were days that I fought against my sin nature and made myself do things, but it was really hard and I would fall right back into my routine of nothingness again.
Over the past few months I especially hated it and that hate only grew. I was finally at a point where I hated it more than I loved it. I hated getting nothing done and going nowhere with my life. I hated wasting my life away on a couch when I knew I could be doing things.
During the last month or two, my boyfriend was really beginning to inspire me as he was educating me on the power of mindset and consistency. This only made me all the more determined to fight. I knew I could beat this if I was willing to put in the effort.
As he and I experimented together with accountability, blocking apps, new routines and the like – it seemed like breaking free was actually possible.
Now, I don’t know what exactly pulled me out of this lazy lifestyle – a combination of God and my boyfriend tugging at me, I guess – but suddenly I’m feeling free of it. I’m still in early stages so I have my days where I fall short, but overall there is growth. Overall, I am fighting this and striving to live in a way that honors God by using my time wisely and working hard with all joy.
And you know something? It feels so much more amazing than any level of satisfaction my laziness brought me. <3
My advice to you is just these 4 things:
1. When you’re struggling with that love/hate relationship with sin, always fight it. In all actuality, you don’t want to be there and you know better. So fight one step at a time.
2. When you feel God tugging at you to let go, don’t ignore it. He loves you and wants what’s best for you. Sorry to say, that does not look like sitting on a couch eating bonbons all day 😉
3. Get accountability. I don’t care what you’re dealing with, tell someone about your struggle and get them to keep you accountable. Ask them to be firm with you and yell at you sometimes. You have no idea how helpful it is.
4. Do whatever is necessary to remove temptations out of your life. For me, I downloaded an app on my phone called Block which allows me to lock 6 of my apps for any amount of time and I can not use them until the time is up. I can’t tell you how much having this has helped me! It’s torture at times, but ultimately keeps me using my time wisely.
~*~
Now here I sit today, reading through an article I wrote months ago and feeling convicted by my own words. You know why? Because I’ve fallen into the pit of laziness again.
It’s not as bad as it was before, that much is sure. The stuff my boyfriend taught me about mindset is still in my head and I’m often pushing myself to do something – because I know God wants me to.
However, I am having more lazy days and it’s getting easier for me to give in again. Reading this article now, remembering how dark it was in that pit of laziness and how freeing it was to climb out – I want that again. It’s pretty easy for me to remember times I was most happy and felt most fulfilled – that season of breaking free and actually doing something with my life was one of those times.
I’m not saying I’m not happy now, just that I feel better when I’m using the time God has given me wisely.
Our time here is a gift that is slowly ticking by… let’s not waste it. <3
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” ~ Colossians 3:23-24
Do you struggle with laziness? What helps you not waste your time?
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