By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
Eclesiastes 10:18
Slothfulness comes from the root word “sloth”, which means to be idle. So, slothful is when you become at full idle. The suffix “ness” puts or denotes the state, condition, or quality of the preceding adjective. In essence, “slothfulness” means the condition of being at full idle.
Solomon, the King of Israel most famous for his wisdom, penned slothfulness as the reason the building is in decay or disrepair. Jesus Himself had no respect for the sloth. In Matthew 25, Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a businessman who went away leaving men in control of his talents (money). When he returned, he found two had doubled their portion, and one had instead buried, hid, and put the talent in the position of being idle. Look what Jesus likens this servant to, “Thou wicked and slothful servant.”
Again, Solomon wrote in Proverbs 20:4, “The sluggard…will begin harvest and have nothing.” The sloth is the man that wastes the clock, shows up late, complains what the company is not giving them for free; and yet, when the awards are handed out, they are whining because they received no award, bonus, or blessing from the boss/owner.
Let us remember our work ethic and business etiquette, from the way we present ourselves to the way we pay our bills, are a witness for and to the Master. Let us not get forgiveness and slothfulness mixed up. Doing nothing about the weakest link in our home, church, business, or friends does not propel us forward. In fact, Solomon said it decays the building.
Constantly turning our heads from the problem, sin, and negative attitude does not bring security to the harvest. It brings and breeds infection and infestation, destroying the harvest, abolishing our effectiveness, and slowing progression in our homes, companies, and in the Kingdom.
Our prayer for you this week: May we learn to keep the building, “Us”, in good repair for the Master.