On Idleness Part 2
Ecclesiastes shows what happens to the house of a man who slackens in his care and responsibility:
"By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through." (Ecc 10:18)
The word used for "house", bayith, is used in the greatest variation of applications, especially meaning "family, household", so Ecclesiastes does not talk about a mason's bad work here, obviously, but about a lack of responsibility for the family on the side of its head, the father.
Ezekiel even points out that Sodom was punished, among other things, for the idleness that was within her gates:
"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." (Eze 16:49)
Idleness is no just a minor flaw in God's eyes, but invites wickedness into life, as was obviously the case in Sodom, which was utterly destroyed.
Proverbs 31:10-31, by way of contrast, praises the virtuous woman in her daily life and work, and of course mentions that she does not eat "the bread of idleness", as quoted above. Her range of responsibilities and the many different things she does and takes care of paint the picture of a wonderful role model for wives who want to follow God's path by taking their appointed place within the family as their husband's help meets and reliable partners.
So being diligent and working efficiently and productively is obviously a very biblical attitude, but not for the sake of being busy, but for the sake of God's Kingdom.
Read on here:
Go back to the beginning here:
Jump to Part 4 here:
