“Sluggards” are regular characters in Proverbs. They are folks (masculine and feminine!) who can’t be counted on to do the most basic – but essential – things in order to take care of themselves or their families.
To “not plow in season” (late fall when the “former rains” soften the soil) will be a disastrous choice within just a few months. “At harvest time they look but find nothing” is the terrible consequence that next spring when there will be nothing to harvest – and no other source of groceries available!
This is an awful situation to find myself, especially when I am also responsible for others. In the Biblical world, sluggards (and everyone else in the community) knew what needed to be done – they just couldn’t make themselves do it. While life always shows up with its challenges, the sluggards’ only really problem is their unwillingness to focus on and work at their main responsibilities in life.
While addicts and alcoholics often play the part of this sluggard, they are not alone. Many of us stay busy doing lots of things – even good things. Yet, if we don’t handle priorities appropriately, our careers, relationships and spirituality will slip away.
For so many of us, our problem is not that we don’t know what to do – but that we simply don’t do what we do know to do! So let’s get with the program, one “season” at a time!