2 Thes. 3:10 "If a person will not work, then he will not eat."
Now that's a rude verse in the bible! Or is it? Surely the sluggard will not have much in this life. If I decide to sit back and wait for my train to come in, I may never know where it could take me. I do, however, think there is a little more here than a harsh command to the couch potato.
In life, we can freeze up due to fear or insecurity and end up virtually doing nothing but existing. Or worse yet, digressing. I can stay amazingly busy and justify everything I'm doing as absolutely necessary, and use that as an excuse to avoid that which I fear. That which I know has to be done. That which would make my life better and more successful if I would just make a step towards it, no matter how small.
I have many that will disagree with my next statement: "There are very few lazy people, mostly they are actually unmotivated, fearful, fear failure or success, or have emotional damage from people that have told them they were worthless". It's demotivating to say the least. So, in essence, we hide.
Some mountains seem unconquerable. "This will never change" is what we can end up believing. Let's speak a little bit about inertia. It is the force that begins to work for us as we step out of fear and take a step up that mountain. The smallest step is a good step. It gives inertia a chance.
The scripture about not working and not eating could also be related to endless other things in my opinion. What about "If you don't spend quality time with your kids, they will eventually resent you". The correct baby step for the work scripture may be looking at some classified ads instead of saying that there is nothing in there (fear, denial) or saying that in this economy there are too many people and you would never get picked. (fear of failure, fear of rejection) The correct baby step for the family quote might be to simply set apart one night a week - even one hour a week - and spend time doing what your son or daughter wants to do instead of saying "I'm just too busy right now" (fear of intimacy, low self-worth, consumed with personal issues) or "they don't want to spend time with me, they are at that age". (fear of rejection, guilt for past stuff)
The point is, much of this stuff gets called laziness. The list is virtually endless. If you don't eat right, you'll get fat and unhealthy. If you don't love others, you won't be loved. If you don't live within your means, you'll have mounting debt.
These are not just maxims. They are truths the belie the fear, anxiety, trust issues, abuse issues and self worth issues that often get labeled as laziness.
What about the stereotypical husband that won't do anything around the house? He's a lazy bum and she's a constant nag. He would do more but it's never good enough. She would not nag if he would do more. It's often a never-ending circular argument. First, is the man lazy? Or is he rife with failure issues and has an unappeasable wife who had a failure of a father or some other male figure? Now the husband has no chance. Is the bar set too high for him by some woman who is trying to find happiness in a picture-perfect husband because she is masking her own issues?
Or is he dealing with some past issues that are too painful to deal with in his mind and he uses television and other distractions to escape? Is he medicating with pornography because he is a pervert or he has self-worth issues and can't seem to find the success he dreamed of as a kid? He can always get a smile and a nod of approval from the smiling beauty on the internet.
Pain, yes. Insecurity, yes. Fear, certainly. Laziness, rarely.
Simply taking a small step out of denial and in the general direction of healing is always the right thing to do. Remember, it's not about conquering the mountain, that's too big of a task. It's about taking a small step in that direction. The mountain is conquerable.
That train you're waiting for is probably never coming. How long have you been waiting? What are some issues that may be keeping us from "working" in order that we may "eat"?
What is a step, even a small one, in the right direction for you?
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