The Sluggard

Scripture

The lazy man won’t go out and work. “There might be a lion outside!” he says. He sticks to his bed like a door to its hinges! 

~Proverbs 6:13-14, TLB

Quote

“Don’t make excuses, make plans.”

~Stephen Covey

In the old days, a lazy man was allowed to starve but in the age of big brother government, we no longer have that freedom. We feed the lazy; we encourage them to do nothing. According to Proverbs, lazy people do stay busy doing one thing– making excuses. “I can’t go to work today, there might be a lion in the road.” Right, chances are one is 50 billion that there is a lion waiting to devour you when you walk out the door. This is how lazy people spend their time–making excuses. Reminds me of a couple of stories.

The first story is of the man who was too lazy to work. This man was so lazy that he wouldn’t even exert energy to nourish himself. Finally, his wife and children decided to take him to the cemetery and bury him alive. His farm was a mess, he had raised no crops and the entire family was hungry. They load him in the back of the wagon and start for the cemetery. Before they can get to the burial grounds, they meet neighbors coming to them with a load of corn. The neighbors said, “We know you folks are starving and we have brought you a load of corn.” The lazy man, who is laying on his back in the wagon doesn’t even raise up but they heard him say, “Is it shucked?”

The second is of the man who went to his next door neighbor and asks to borrow his lawn mower. His neighbor curtly responded with a No, I have to go to town.” The man was a bit shocked and so he asks, “What does me borrowing your lawn mower have to do with you going to town?” “Nothing,” said the neighbor, “but if I do not want you using my lawn mower, one excuse is as good as another.”

You know who I call on when I want something done? I call on busy people, not excuse makers. People who make excuses are not worth fooling with. The first characteristic of irresponsibility is excuse making. In the work world, you give a man an assignment, the necessary resources and a deadline. When the deadline comes, you look for the results and you are never pleased with an excuse. When this happened several times, you fire him. It reminds me of one other story. When Joe David was coaching Pee Wee football he had a guard that repeatedly failed to block his man. Joe David called him aside and got in his face, “You have to block your man, he is killing us. He is number so-in-so; now get out there and block him.” The kid said, “He’s a third grader coach and I am a second grader. I don’t block third graders.” I’d rather have a man that makes mistakes trying as a man who never makes mistakes because he is too busy making excuses.

Seven days of sunshine according to James Spann and Big Mama but it is going to get hot. The corn is finally growing. I saw a patch on Mooresville Road yesterday that is more than waste high. It grows fast when the conditions get right.

Have a great weekend. Don’t you love FRIDAYS. Fridays are fabulous.

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