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8 Reasons Why Most Christians are Financially Broke Series - Part 4
By Bruce | March 5, 2008
Reason #5:
Many Christians are lazy.
Yes, a lot of us are lazy. There are many biblical passages about laziness, and one of them that I feel refers to laziness and entrepreneurship is this one:
The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, “If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!” - Proverbs 22:13 (NLT)
Oh, wait a minute…this one too:
The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, “I can’t go outside because there might be a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!” - Proverbs 26:13 (NLT)
Notice that these two verses are very similar. Perhaps the Lord wanted to emphasize the importance of not being lazy by making excuses.
A deceitful thing about laziness, I believe, is to equate it with not working hard.
But does God want us to work hard all the time, 24/7; otherwise we’re lazy? I don’t believe so, because he also said:
[It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep. - Psalm 127:2 (KJV)
So we have to have balance in our lives, and understand that there are ways out there to be more efficient.
In his book, Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals, Brian Tracy explains the way we should think about work a la Psalm 127:2:
“…Most people are trapped in an old paradigm: They believe that the only way they can increase their incomes is by increasing the amount of work they do or the number of hours they work. In fact, many people feel guilty if they are not working almost to the point of exhaustion most of the time. However, this is an old way of thinking that leads inevitably to a physical, emotional and spiritual dead end…The world has changed dramatically, and we must change with it. In less than two generations, we have moved from the Industrial Age through the Service Age and into the Information Age. In the Information Age, knowledge has become the most valuable resource and the most valuable factor of production. We have moved from the Age of Manpower to the Age of Mindpower. In this age, you are no longer rewarded for the hours you put in but for what you put into those hours…Peter Drucker calls this the Age of the Knowledge Worker. The way you think and get results today is totally different from the way it might have been in the past. Today, you are paid for accomplishments, not activities. You are paid for outcomes rather than for inputs, or the number of hours you work. Your rewards are determined by the quality and quantity of results you achieve in your area of responsibility. This change in the paradigm of work opens up unlimited opportunities for creative people who recognize it and capitalize on it.” (emphasis mine)
Wow! I couldn’t have said it better myself! ;o)
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Topics: Entrepreneurship, Motivation, Economic Freedom |
March 15th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
um so whered did you get the fact that christians are lazy. the verse in the bible isnt talking about christians, its talking about any lazy person.
and wheres the other 7 reasons why christians are financially broke. all the christians i know are actually well off.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:34 am
Hi Jeff,
Sure, the verse in the Bible is talking about all lazy people, but that does include Christians, doesn’t it? And I’m not saying that all Christians are lazy; just that this might be one of the reasons that they are financially broke.
This is my point: the Bible is directed to Christians, to tell us how to live right, and if we follow the principles in it, we will prosper in life. Many people who are not Christians knowingly or unknowingly follow God’s principles and get results.
That’s great that all the Christians you know are well off, but there are many that I know of here in the U.S. and in other parts of the world that are struggling financially or poor.
Thanks for your comments!