The Temptation of Laziness
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Leave a Comment
I wanted this Reflections on the Home to touch on something that I have to work at on a daily basis.....laziness.I'm not a lazy person, but I can have lazy tendencies and sometimes these tendencies can go on for days.
The result??
A house that is in a complete and total mess, teenagers who are living the example their mother is setting before them (horribly, messy rooms!!..), and a husband who is less than pleased.
The result of that??
A home that is not peaceful or joyful. A home that is not filled with laughter and smiles. A home that is not hospitable (forbid it that someone should just "drop by").
Most of the time, I'm prepared for just about anything....our teens bringing home extra teens, DH bringing home a co-worker, extended family just dropping by. At the very least the bathroom is tidy and stocked, the living room is picked up, and the dishes are usually clean and ready for use.
I believe that my house is a reflection of my respect for my husband. He works so hard everyday to provide for our family. He doesn't go to work with the attitude that half his best is good enough. If that was his attitude, he wouldn't get the promotion or the raise and most likely wouldn't keep the job. He would fail at providing for his family.
As the wife and mom, God's order and place for me is to be a keeper of my home (Titus 2:5).
All day long you've been chasing tiny tots, homeschooling the older ones, running errands, preparing supper, it's 8:30 at night and you're worn out. Yet, there sits that stack of dishes from supper that have yet to be washed.
DH is giving the tiny tots their baths, the older children are finishing up some schoolwork, and you feel you have just a moment to sit on the couch and breath.
Your conscience is telling you that you know you should really get those dishes washed. You'll regret it the next morning. You choose to ignore the little voice (the Holy Spirit??) and just relax.
Stories, prayers, hugs, kisses and soon you're in bed fast asleep.
The alarm rings and you hit the floor to make coffee for DH and fix his lunch. Except what you find is clutter on the counter. Even getting to the coffee pot will take time. DH comes to you because the last clean shirt he has is missing a button that he asked you to sew back on over a week ago. You need to fix a sandwich for his lunch, but realize that you didn't thaw any meat out for his sandwich and you don't have time to mix up some tuna salad!!! Oh this morning is off to a chaotic start and you know deep inside that this is all a result of your laziness from the previous day.
There is no room for laziness in keeping a home.
Proverbs 31:27 tells us, "She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness." NLT
Ecclesiastes 10:18 says, "Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot." NLT
Proverbs tells us that she carefully watches all that goes on in her household. She doesn't let the laundry pile up because the lack of clean towels will hinder baths being taken which will hinder bedtimes or getting ready to go to an appointment. That would cause stress and yelling and anger and hurry, hurry, rush, rush....no peacefulness there...
She doesn't forget to plan ahead when she knows she has an afternoon doctor's appointment. She makes sure that there is something in the crockpot for supper so she doesn't have to go through the drive through on her way home, spending money that will hurt the family's budget.
She's on watch all the time so that her home runs smoothly.
Ecclesiastes repeats Proverbs. If I see little Johnny has a small hole in his jeans, I need to repair it right away before a bigger hole results in the inability to be repaired. Here we go buying a new pair of jeans that hadn't been budgeted for.
Towels wearing thin? Cut them down, sew around the edges and now you have dishtowels or washcloths!
It's true that while we can plan our day, ultimately God's will will be done...but in planning ahead and turning from the temptation of laziness we can have a peaceful, joyful home.....and peace and joy reflect Jesus.
Keeping Our Homes for Him,
Deb
Visit me at my blog One Single Minute!
She doesn't forget to plan ahead when she knows she has an afternoon doctor's appointment. She makes sure that there is something in the crockpot for supper so she doesn't have to go through the drive through on her way home, spending money that will hurt the family's budget.
She's on watch all the time so that her home runs smoothly.
Ecclesiastes repeats Proverbs. If I see little Johnny has a small hole in his jeans, I need to repair it right away before a bigger hole results in the inability to be repaired. Here we go buying a new pair of jeans that hadn't been budgeted for.
Towels wearing thin? Cut them down, sew around the edges and now you have dishtowels or washcloths!
It's true that while we can plan our day, ultimately God's will will be done...but in planning ahead and turning from the temptation of laziness we can have a peaceful, joyful home.....and peace and joy reflect Jesus.
Keeping Our Homes for Him,
Deb
Thanks for this.
And thanks for sharing the towel tip!
Wonderful post! I understand just what you are saying~there really is no time for laziness in the home~it is amazing how fast my house can go from being clean and tidy~to being one big mess. Thank you for the inspiration~God bless, Rose
Talk about feeling conviction! Thanks for sharing this =)
ooh.
ouch!
thanks! :)
You were talking right to me today...this is something I need to make some major improvements in....Im signing off and getting to work. Thanks!
OUCH! I have been struggling with this lately. I feel like no matter how hard I work it never gets done.
Thank you for this wonderful post. I needed it today and my family will thank you!
God is so Good!
The arrows hit their mark this morning! Blessings ~
ouch! that sounds like me and definetly something that i need to change.
kat
x
Amen! So true.
OUCH!!!!
Awesome post....what I needed to "hear"!
Thanks!!!
Blessings,
Tracy
Do you have a tiny camera hidden in my home somewhere?! Thinking of that tiny voice telling you to get off your tushy as actually being the Holy Spirit is a sobering thought. I bet my dinner dishes will get done tonight!
Wonderful post!
I found this very encouraging today. It reminds me that it is worth it to finish up in the evenings so we can have "peace" in our home the next day.
OH amen!! A wonderful reminder that I will keep in the forefront of my mind again. I have recognized the ease of staying on top of things. Now that things are "manageable" I don't want to let things go. I don't like to allow the dishes to go til morning (and almost CAN'T or we'll have no clean cups, etc). I find that God is really carrying me through those exhausted evenings and I am still on my feet preparing the house for the following day. It certainly pays off, too, when I wake up to a peaceful and tidy living space. :)
That sounds so much like me. I will admit, I am lazy. I am sad to say that, but I am. This really convicted me and I thank you so much. My husband and daughter is always digging to find clean clothes, my dishes are never kept up with, our rooms are always so messy, if we are expecting someone to bring us something, we meet them outside so they don't see what a mess our house is. I know I need to change, and I want to change. I am going to be praying for the Lord to help me to change my lazy ways. Plus I am going to come and read this post when I nead encouraging to get up and get things done! Thank you once again!
I'd appreciate it if you would no longer snoop at my house! LOL No, seriously. This is very familiar, and I am glad I read this. Helpful and motivating!