Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
The sin of idleness constitutes one of the greatest curses that can fall upon man, for it opens the door for evil thoughts, desires, and suggestions to enter in and take root in our minds, whereas if we were busy with doing something good or constructive, we would not have the time to dwell on sinful ideas and actions. The devil finds work for idle hands to do, and this proverb found fulfillment in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were given up to the vilest lusts and indulgences, because of the many idle hours they had on their hands.
One of the reasons God increased the workload of man after sin, is because it has the tendency to restrain the indulgence of evil tendencies, and thus the very obstacles, hurdles, and perplexities we experience at work are for our benefit, as stated in the Bible. Let's read:
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
We observe in this passage that God did not curse Adam, but the ground, and this was done for our sake, or in other words, for our benefit. It is not God's will that we should have nothing to do, and if this is the case, then we should find something good to do. When Jacob became employed by Laban, he had no time to think about sinful indulgences nor did he invite satan to tempt him, for he was consumed with the responsibilities and tasks at hand, and day and night were thus spent caring for the flocks of sheep out in the open country. Let's read:
Genesis 31:39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. 40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
Now the Bible is not saying that we are to be intemperate in working, what it is saying is that whenever and wherever possible, all those who can work should be gainfully employed in doing something that will be of benefit to humanity and themselves, for when we are thus occupied, the many vices and sinful habits which knock at our heart's door, are repelled and suffocated for lack of exercise, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
In our day we are surrounded with a host of attractions and distractions which call to us in our idle hours. The numerous television shows and soap operas, the video games, the liquor parlors, the gambling table, the x-rated movies, and all of the other numerous seductions that are put in place by the agencies of men and evil spirits, are to be avoided as far as possible, not being allowed to usurp the valuable resource of time that God has lent us.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that calls us to vigorous work, both in the temporal and spiritual realms, for character is displayed and developed through the everyday experiences of life. Let's read:
Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
May God grant us His grace today so that we can be productive citizens of earth and heaven, for it is the will of God that we avoid as far as possible, the sin of idleness. God bless!