Laziness Brings Poverty

Note: Poverty is not just material poverty. Poverty can be of the spirit, of the mind, and of the body too.

About a month ago, I was becoming lazier than usual and decided that I would just spend the morning in bed.

I picked up this new Bible translation I had just received in the post a few days before. I had read up about it online and listened to many TikTokers talk about how bad it was; I still went ahead and purchased it anyway.

Why not?!

I let my fingers guide me to where my hands would open this book and my eyes scanned the page and rested on the heading, “Life Lessons.”

Let’s face it, life lessons are definitely something I feel I need right now.

As I read through the passage, I felt so incredibly called out.

“So wake up, sleepyhead.

How long will you lie there?

When will you wake up and get out of bed?”

So incredibly called out!

I remember laughing.

You know that laugh you do when you have been called out on something you knew you were doing but also refused to admit it to yourself that you were doing it? It’s like a mixture of shame and guilt and an “ah huh” moment all in one.

That was my laugh.

I called out to Christ, “Oh, you are so funny!”

I knew the message had come from Him and I heard it – loud and clear!

At that point in time, and up until last night, I was stuck in a place of spiritual – and physical – laziness.

My apartment was a mess. I mean no clean dishes, piles of dirty laundry that had been sitting there for at least 3 weeks, unvacuumed floors full of loose pet fur and who knows what else. I was skipping showering, skipping brushing my teeth, skipping brushing my hair. I left my job at the end of 2024 and have not really bothered to look for anything else. I use the excuse that I homeschool my daughter and as a solo mother, I have no one else to look after her. The shameful part is not the neglect I was giving to myself, or my apartment, it was the neglect I was projecting onto my child. I just couldn’t function. In many ways, I still can’t.

Of course, being in a poor state of mind, I didn’t take Christ’s advice straight away. No, instead He had to keep redirecting me back to that same passage – at least ten times.

A few nights ago, I felt like I had lost my connection with Him.

I guilted myself.

I had finally done it. I knew it would happen. He had left me – just like everyone I’ve ever known has left me.

Then, I heard Him.

He reminded me of this passage. He reminded me how my search for wisdom led us together in the first place. He reminded me that I had drowned Him out in my laziness. He reminded me that all I had to do was get up, share His word, and live life.

I am not who I used to be. I don’t need to drown in the darkness anymore because the greatest source of light lives within me. That light is Jesus Christ – our reigning King.