“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Growing Dominion, Part 114
“The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing” (Prov. 20:4).
Lazy men always have reasons for their inability to work, and they have these reasons ready to hand. Because it is a fallen world, many of these reasons are really there. In other words, the sluggard who does not plow “by reason of the cold” need not be lying about the cold. It might really be cold. That doesn’t mean that plowing is optional though. If a task is necessary, then the “reasons” for quitting which will suggest themselves are actually obstacles to be overcome by the worker, not obstacles that will overcome the worker. If the reason is a reason, not an excuse, then it is a different matter. “I didn’t get the plowing done because the horse kicked me, and the bone of my forearm was sticking out.” But even here, a man with a broken arm needs to get the field plowed, and not doing so will have consequences in the time of harvest. The difference between a genuine reason and a self-serving excuse is this: friends and family are eager to help in the former case.