Spiritual laziness
Spiritual slumber is the situation in which the believer is weak, weary and worn out. In this instance, he is too lazy to pray, fast or engage in Bible study. He finds it too boring to participate in ministry. He won’t get up early for morning prayer. He will avoid night prayers. He is always late for any work. He seldom finishes. He is full of excuses and unrealistic dreams and so on.
Proverbs 12:27 The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
Proverbs 13:4
“The soul of the lazy man desires and has nothing. But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich”.
Signs of spiritual laziness:
- If we feel that fellowship is not necessary to live a Christian life that means we are spiritually lazy. Christian fellowship is a must. But it does not mean we should go to a big church with a large gathering. Troop Church in houses and workplaces is the model approved by our Lord.
- If we assume that we know everything in the Bible and we need not read the Bible every day, then we might be spiritually lazy. It’s crucial that we read and meditate the words daily since God speaks through His Word. We should apply the word in our life.
Oh, how I love Your instructions! I think about them all day long. – Psalm 11
We should not allow pride but should be humble. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. – Proverbs 11:2 (NIV)
- If we feel that others are perfect and we are worthless, that is a sign of spiritual laziness. We should depend on the Holy Spirit when we are feeling low. He will strengthen us .
- If we care more about worldly things than about heavenly care then definitely we are in spiritual laziness.Let us evaluate our priorities to see where God is fitting into our life and schedule!
Proverbs 10:4 tells us that we are to be diligent workers, not lazy. The Bible also instructs us to work with eager hands (Proverbs 31:13) and work as if we are working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23).
- If we recite prayers without feeling the words then we are in spiritual laziness. We should understand what our intentions are. we should talk to God from our heart, prayer is nothing but conversation with God. We should feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and also feel heavenly bliss during our prayer
- If Our life doesn’t reflect Christ and others don’t see Christ in us then it is surely a sign of spiritual laziness. We should be witnesses to others.
In this article, we have listed some of the signs of our spiritual laziness. There may be many more signs of this situation in our life. The Holy Spirit warns us whenever we face this situation He helps us to escape this trap of the devil. He guides us to regain our spiritual growth.
We should recover from spiritual laziness by our faith, courage, honesty, patience, humility, willingness, brotherly-love, integrity, self-discipline, and service.
May God strengthen us in our weakness and help us to come out of these dangerous situations and lead us to eternal life. Amen.
Sol. Subramanian