Speaker:
We're gonna be in the Book of Proverbs again.
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So if you need a worksheet,
you'll get a worksheet.
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If you got your Bible, you
can head over to Proverbs.
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But I'm gonna pray for us, um, and
we'll, we'll dive into God's word.
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So let's talk to God Father in heaven,
we are here because we need your wisdom.
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We're really bad at living life.
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Um, and sometimes we don't
wanna admit that, and that's
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part of our own foolishness.
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Part of the reason we're foolish is
because we don't think we need your help.
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And so I pray for anyone here who
thinks that they don't really need
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you, that they don't really need
to hear what you have to say, that
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what you call us to do is optional.
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I pray that they humble themselves, or I
pray that you humble them and show them
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how desperately we all need your wisdom.
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And we're not here because we're
trying to be better than other people.
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We're not here because we want to,
um, show off and, and be proud.
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We're here because we all need you.
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I need you, God.
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So I pray that you give us all
wisdom to live a life that matters,
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a life that, um, is fulfilling and
satisfying, um, your way and not our
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own, because our own way is really bad.
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So give us humility and give us a
desire to learn from you this evening.
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We pray this in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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All right, we are gonna be in Proverbs
chapter 13, starting in verse four, okay?
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We're gonna jump around a bit, but
we are gonna be in Proverbs 13,
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and we're gonna be talking about,
uh, about hard work and laziness.
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And, um, if you don't like bugs, you
might wanna close your eyes, okay?
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'Cause, uh, we're talking
about bugs right now.
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So this, for those of you who don't
know, is called an emerald cockroach
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wasp, which is one really cool
thing and two really bad things.
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Um, an emerald cockroach wasp.
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I think it's from Africa.
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Okay.
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And what it does is this thing, uh, kills
cockroaches, which might be a good thing.
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But this wasp, what it does is it, um…
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So it breeds using cockroaches.
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So it puts its egg inside of a cockroach,
and then the egg eats the cockroach from
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the inside, and that's how it, how it
comes out, which is really, really gross.
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Um, but what this thing does is the,
the female wasp, it'll sting the roach.
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So it lands on the roach
and stings it once.
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First time, it immobilizes
its legs, which is kinda wild.
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Then what it does is it
injects, like, what they call
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neurotoxins, uh, into its brain.
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So it, like, poisons
the cockroach's brain.
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And so then the cockroach
doesn't wanna run away anymore
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because it's changed its, like…
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It's put, it's poisoned its
brain, so now the cockroach is,
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like, super relaxed and calm.
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You know, like when they need to
put you under for, like, surgery
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or something, they, like, kinda
just make you really chill.
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It does that to the cockroach, and
then the cockroach is, like, super
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chill, and then the wasp injects its
babies into the cockroach, and that's
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how it happens, which is super gross.
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But the whole point, right,
is the cockroach doesn't mind.
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The cockroach is, like, super chill.
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The cockroach is like, "Yeah, just inject
your larva into me, and I will just
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chill right here while you do that Right?
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The cockroach has been tricked
into thinking that this is
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totally fine, not a big deal.
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But really what's gonna
happen is it's gonna die.
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The cockroach is gonna get eaten
alive from the inside by this thing's
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kids, which is horrifying, right?
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Um, and that's super disgusting,
but the whole point is you and I are
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kinda like cockroaches sometimes.
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That's definitely why you came to
True North tonight, to hear that.
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Um, because there's something really
subtle that tricks us into thinking
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everything's okay, but really it kills
us from the inside, and that's laziness.
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Right?
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Laziness doesn't feel
like a big deal, right?
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If, if you were gonna name, oh, what are
like the worst sins someone could do?
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Or what's the easy…
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Like, well, last week we talked
about one of the easiest ways
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for someone to ruin their life.
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You wouldn't say being lazy
is like top three, right?
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You would maybe put, I don't
know, greed or lust or selfishness
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or something like that, right?
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You wouldn't put laziness
high up on that list.
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And that's the point.
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Laziness, it, it seems chill.
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It literally is chill, right?
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You're not doing anything.
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But what it does is it slowly
and very peacefully kills you.
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That's what laziness does, much like
our emerald cockroach wasp friend here.
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Laziness is a slow killer.
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So Proverbs 13:4 is where we're
gonna start, and we're gonna learn
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what makes laziness so deadly, okay?
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So Proverbs 13 verse 4.
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If you're not there, I'll
have it on the screen for you.
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"The soul of the sluggard…"
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Sluggard, that's like
a lazy person, right?
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Um, "The soul of the sluggard craves
and gets nothing, while the soul of the
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diligent," someone who works hard, who's,
who, who does their things methodically
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and, and very thoughtfully, right?
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They are richly supplied.
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They've got everything they need, right?
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So the person who's lazy,
they want a lot of stuff.
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They crave it.
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They're like, "Oh, I wish I
could be really good at this.
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I wish I was more like this.
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I wish I could have that."
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But they don't get it, 'cause they
just sit there and do nothing.
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Right?
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They have all these dreams,
all these desires, all these
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wants, and they can't get them.
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But the person who works hard,
they have what they need.
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And maybe you're thinking, "What
does this have to do with Jesus?
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What does it have to do
with being a Christian?"
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Well, God has set up his world where
hard work is a, the best way to live.
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Working hard is good for you.
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Working hard doesn't just s- see,
notice it doesn't say it supplies
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your body, supplies your soul.
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Your soul's gonna live forever.
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Your body is gonna die.
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Hard work is not just good for
succeeding in life and making money and
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getting into a good school and getting
good grades and being good at your
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sport, being good at your instrument.
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Hard work is good for your soul.
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It makes your s- you the type
of person who glorifies God.
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Hard work good for your
soul, not just your body.
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If you wanna put this verse in, uh,
four words, here's how I did it.
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Lazies lose, workers win.
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I don't know if lazies is a
word, but it is now, okay?
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I'm doing my best Shakespeare
impression and making up words.
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Lazies lose, workers win, right?
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That's all y- all you need
to take away from there.
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God's wisdom, that's the
whole point of Proverbs.
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Proverbs is God's way of life.
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How, how does God say we should live?
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God's wisdom shows us that hard work and
self-discipline are the path to happiness,
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while laziness is the path to death.
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And remember, Proverbs,
everything's life or death.
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There's not like, oh, you can
just be kinda lazy and okay.
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Everything is a path, you're going towards
life or you're going towards destruction.
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One of two ways.
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And laziness is the path to destruction.
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Hard work is the path to life.
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But first where we wanna start, Proverbs,
right, we talked about wisdom is a heart
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issue and foolishness is a heart issue.
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So let's start with the heart.
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First thing we're gonna look
at is recognize what your
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work says about your heart.
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Recognize, right?
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Rem- think about it.
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Okay, what does my work
say about my heart?
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What does my work say about my heart?
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I don't know if you've seen
these recently, but I have…
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I don't know even know if they're new.
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They might not even be new,
'cause I'm old, and so I don't
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know what's new and what's not.
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But you know those, like, statements
that people try to make sound like
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really profound but they're not?
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Super cool.
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I'll give you an example.
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Like, uh, "Don't live for the
weekend, weekend your life."
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Right?
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Uh, 'cause you- people say, "Oh, yeah,
like, live for the weekend, you know,
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just work really hard on weeks so you can
do whatever you want on the weekends."
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They're like, "No, you shouldn't do that.
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Instead, you should just make
your whole life a weekend."
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Right?
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So, "Don't weekend your, your
living, weekend your life," or,
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uh, "Don't grow your comfort
zone, comfort your growth zone."
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Right?
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I don't even know what that
means, but it sounds interesting.
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Um, "Don't think outside the
box, box outside the think."
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Maybe, maybe that one's something
that you, you think would be good.
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Um, "Don't make memories to remember
life, live life to remember memories."
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That was another one I saw.
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Um, but the- the- the most
significant one, the- the- the-
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the featured one is always, "Don't
love your job, job your love."
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Right?
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Which essentially is the- the spin-off
of, uh, if you fi- if you work at
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something that, like, is really your
passion, that you love, you won't
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actually feel like you're working, right?
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If you do something for your job
that you, you think is really cool,
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you're like, "This is awesome.
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I love this," it doesn't feel like work.
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Because you're like, "Oh, this is fun.
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I enjoy this."
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Right?
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That's the whole point.
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Don't…
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Right?
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If you- if you love your job,
it's not gonna feel like a job.
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You're gonna be like,
"Oh, this is just great.
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I love doing this."
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There's even in the-the secular
world, the non-Christian world,
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they know that there's a connection
between work and your heart.
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Because if your heart is in
your work, it doesn't feel as
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much like work anymore, right?
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Because work, what you work at, is
actually an expression of your heart.
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What you put your effort into is
really like a value statement.
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What's important to you?
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Well, what do you put your effort into?
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What do you think about?
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What do you try really hard to do?
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What do you want to get?
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What do you spend your, your
blood, your sweat, your tears on?
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Your hours, your money.
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That's a value statement, right?
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So your work is really showing your heart.
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If you don't work hard at
something, that shows you that
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you don't really care, right?
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If you don't think something's important,
you're not gonna work very hard at it.
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So your work shows what you value.
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And that means that to be a hard
worker, it comes from within, right?
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People can force you to work hard
temporarily, but as soon as you're on your
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own, you're not gonna work hard anymore.
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If you're really a lazy person,
that'll come out from the inside.
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If you're a hard worker, that'll also come
out from the inside, and we see that here.
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We talk about more bugs in Proverbs 6.
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You don't have to turn there.
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I've got it on the screen for you.
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But he sa- he's talking to lazy people.
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He says, "Go to the ant, O sluggard.
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Consider her ways and be wise."
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So you can learn a lot of
wise things from an ant.
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That's what he's saying.
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"Without having any chief officer or
ruler," right, there's no supervisor
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supervising the ants, right?
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No one's like, "All right,
you clocked in at, at 8:00.
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Uh, make sure you finish all your work
by 5:00, and then I'll let you go."
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Right?
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There's no one saying,
"Oh, do your homework.
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Make sure you finish."
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Right?
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There's no, there's n- none of that.
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No one's doing that for an ant.
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"She prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest."
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Right?
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Ants are always doing
stuff that's productive.
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They're always, they're working hard.
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They're doing things.
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They're building things.
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They're killing things.
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They're bringing food back.
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They're, they're always working, and
no one's telling them to work because
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they have this inner drive, the way
God designed them, to work hard.
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Work has to come from within.
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That's what this proverb is teaching
us, that work is a heart issue.
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Whether you wanna work hard
or not, self-discipline is not
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about you trying really hard.
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It's not about you having
a bunch of life hacks.
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It's not about you reading a bunch
of good books or, or listening to
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this cool podcast that'll teach you
three ways to be more productive.
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Those, those are helpful, but really
hard work comes from your heart.
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It comes from what you think is important
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So your work and your lack, or your
lack of work, right, your laziness,
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shows really your allegiance.
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Who is important to you?
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Not just what.
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If you're a Christian, your work
should show your allegiance.
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Your work should show, I
think God is most important.
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Whether it's your schoolwork, your
actual job, your sports, your instrument,
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your activities, hobbies even.
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What you work at is gonna show
you where your allegiance is.
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Is my allegiance with King Jesus?
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Do I think he's important?
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Well, look at what you put your effort
into, 'cause that's where your heart
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is telling you what's important, right?
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So your heart is reflected in your work.
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Something else that work shows
about your heart is actually
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that laziness is prideful.
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Maybe you've never made this connection
before, but our proverb here does it.
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Proverbs 26:16 says, "The sluggard
is wiser in his own eyes than
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seven men who can answer sensibly."
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So the s- the, the sluggard, right, the
person who's lazy, he thinks he's smarter
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than a group of really smart people
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If you notice, laziness, one of
the people's favorite excuses when
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you're lazy, when you and I are
lazy, one of our favorite excuses
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is, "Well, you don't understand."
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Right?
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"You don't really know.
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Uh, I, I would have gotten
this done, but you don't really
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know what my circumstances are.
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You don't really know what
happened, or you don't know…
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I mean, you don't know what my teacher's
really like, or you don't know, like,
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math isn't the way it used to be."
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Right?
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Like Mr.
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Incredible, right?
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The math's not mathing, right?
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Only the, like, only Matt got that.
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That's fine.
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Um.
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Great.
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Um, laziness usually mean, is, is
an assumption that, well, I'm better
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than this, so I don't have to do that.
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I'm too good for this.
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This isn't worth my time.
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See how prideful that is?
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I'm above this.
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I'm better than this.
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Or this person that I'm trying
to work for doesn't deserve it.
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My boss is, they don't
deserve my hard work.
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My parents don't deserve
my hard work at my chores.
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That's what really, that's one of the
things you're saying when you're lazy.
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You're saying, "I'm too
important to do this."
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Or sometimes what you're saying is,
"Well, you don't, if, if you knew
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what my life was really like, you
would understand why I'm lazy."
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That's you saying, "Look how smart I am."
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And sometimes when people tell
us, "Hey, I think you need to
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work harder," we get mad at them
because we're being prideful, right?
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We're saying, "Well, you, you don't know.
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You don't know what it's like."
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That's us being, usually being prideful.
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That's not them being demanding.
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Sometimes it is, but the first
thing you should do is not
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say, "Oh, you're demanding.
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Just stop, stop asking me to do stuff."
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The first thing you should
say is, "Am I being prideful?
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Am I being wise in my own eyes?
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Or is this person maybe right?"
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So think about what does
my laziness say about God?
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Does my laziness show God I
don't think you're important?
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'Cause that's being prideful, right?
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If, if reading the Bible's hard for
you and you just don't do it 'cause
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you don't feel like it, or you don't
wanna make the time to do it before
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maybe you need to go do your other
things, that's you saying, "God, my
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sleep is more important than you."
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Or maybe you stayed up too late
the night before scrolling on
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your phone or watching a movie.
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:
That's you saying, "That was
more important than you, God."
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:
Or you don't make time to pray, right?
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You, you say, "Oh, it's too hard
for me to focus when I pray,"
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:
but you're not really trying.
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:
That's you saying, "God, you're…
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Y- I'm, I'm way more important than you.
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My…
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You're not worth my focus."
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That's so prideful when we say that.
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Or think about what
laziness says about others.
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Laziness is really very unloving because
no one really wants a lazy person, right?
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You don't want a lazy friend,
especially on a group project, right?
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You don't want a lazy teammate.
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You don't want a, a, a lazy, you
know, group member in, like, your,
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:
your instruments or on your team
or anything like that, right?
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You don't want a lazy person.
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It's really unloving to be lazy.
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Proverbs 10:26 says, "A lazy person
is like vinegar to the teeth."
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:
Anyone here drink vinegar before?
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:
Not a pleasant experience, right?
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:
That's what a lazy person's like.
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:
Or smoke to the eyes, right?
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:
You're ever at the, at the campfire
and the wind just blows all the
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:
smoke straight into your face
and you start crying immediately?
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:
That's what a, a lazy person is like.
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That's what God says.
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It's so unloving to be lazy.
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:
And really, the reason we're lazy is
because we're only thinking about us.
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:
We're not thinking about, oh, how is
my laziness affecting other people?
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:
How does my lack of effort hurt
the team or maybe it's how is my
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:
lack of effort hurting my family?
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:
Because especially in your house,
if you don't do the chores,
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:
someone else has to do it, right?
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:
How is my laziness affecting
my parents or my siblings?
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:
And maybe you think, "Well,
it's m- they're the parents,
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:
it's their job to do it."
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:
That's you being wise in
your own eyes, saying, "Well,
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:
I'm smarter than my parents.
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:
I don't need to do it.
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:
I'm a kid.
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:
I'm more important than them.
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:
My time's more important than them.
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:
My entertainment is more
important than them."
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:
So laziness says a lot about your
heart, and so does hard work.
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:
What you work hard at shows you
what's important to you, right?
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:
If you think God is really important,
you're gonna say, "You know what?
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:
I don't understand all the things that are
happening in the Bible, but I wanna learn.
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:
I'm gonna try to understand
maybe 5% of what I read.
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:
I'm gonna try really hard and take
away what I can, and then next time,
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:
I'm gonna get a little bit more.
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:
Maybe I'll get 6% of what I read."
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:
You work hard at that 'cause
you say, "God's important."
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:
Or, "I, I can only pray
for two minutes and focus."
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:
Great.
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:
Give God your best two minutes, and
then the next day try to give him three.
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:
Work hard at it, 'cause that shows
God, "I think you're important."
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:
If you just say, "Oh, it's too
hard, I'm not gonna do it," that's
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:
showing God you're not worth it.
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:
You're not worth my effort.
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:
And that shows that your heart doesn't
think God is very important either, right?
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:
So your work really reveals your heart
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:
And so really the way to change your work
ethic is to change your heart, right?
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:
You need to change your, your desires,
your loves, your appetites, 'cause
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:
that will change your hard work, right?
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:
You don't change outside in.
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:
That's sometimes helpful to,
okay, I gotta get new habits,
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:
I gotta figure out new plans.
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:
But really it's just, it's, it's about
whether you want to or whether you don't.
392
:
'Cause if you really want to,
you figure out ways to do it.
393
:
If you really wanna do something…
394
:
I had a, I had a pastor who was
really annoying, but whenever I
395
:
would tell him, like, "Hey, I really
wanna do this thing, I just can't
396
:
right now," he'd be like, "Well, if
you really wanted to, you would."
397
:
Which is super annoying, but really true.
398
:
The things you really wanna
do, you make 'em happen.
399
:
The things you kinda wanna do,
you sometimes make 'em happen.
400
:
But you always make time for the things
that you think are most important, right?
401
:
You always make time to eat, 'cause
if you don't, you'll die, right?
402
:
'Cause that's really important to you.
403
:
So really you need heart change, right?
404
:
Discipline and self-control and all
these things is really trusting God.
405
:
You know what?
406
:
Maybe I don't wanna do this, or maybe
this is really hard for me, but I trust
407
:
God, your way is better for me, so I'm
gonna work really hard at it, even though
408
:
it doesn't come naturally to me maybe.
409
:
Maybe loving this person doesn't come
naturally to me, maybe we don't really
410
:
have a lot in common, but I'm gonna
love them and work hard to love them
411
:
because I'm trusting God that, you
know, you loved me first, and I wanna
412
:
love others like you've loved me.
413
:
And you recognize I'm really hard to love
and God still loves me, so I'm gonna work
414
:
hard to love these other people, too.
415
:
So to change your discipline and change
your self-control and your laziness, you
416
:
really need to start with your heart.
417
:
And really all of the change
happens little by little.
418
:
Right?
419
:
All the change in your life do-
usually doesn't happen big moments.
420
:
It's not like, oh, this little thing
happened, and boom, my whole life changed.
421
:
Usually y- you become the person you
are moment by moment, decision by
422
:
decision, and that's something that
we see in the Book of Proverbs 2.
423
:
So our point number two is respect
the power of little by little.
424
:
Respect the power of little by little
425
:
I almost put this as respect the
power of a little, but if Josh
426
:
and Caleb were here, didn't wanna
make things confusing for them.
427
:
Um
428
:
Anyway, respect the
power of little by little
429
:
So no one…
430
:
If you see, if you notice this, right?
431
:
The, the opposite of the sluggard
is someone who's diligent.
432
:
Right?
433
:
When you think of someone who's
diligent, you don't think of someone
434
:
who does something once, and then
they're like, "All right, cool.
435
:
I did it.
436
:
I'm done.
437
:
Don't have to do that anymore."
438
:
Right?
439
:
If you think of someone who's diligent,
you think of someone who's working a lot,
440
:
who's consistently working, who spends
a lot of time doing something, a lot
441
:
of effort over a long period of time.
442
:
Right?
443
:
That's diligent work.
444
:
No one becomes wise, no one becomes a hard
worker just because they did something
445
:
once, and then now they're a hard worker.
446
:
Right?
447
:
Being a hard worker is something
you grow little by little in.
448
:
But also, being lazy is something you
become little by little by little.
449
:
Uh, we talked about this
at the beginning, right?
450
:
Where laziness feels good
and, and it kills you.
451
:
Um, but laziness, that's, that's
what makes it so dangerous, right?
452
:
Is it's little by little.
453
:
It's not, oh, one moment I decided to
wake up and be the laziest person I know.
454
:
Right?
455
:
No one becomes a sluggard overnight.
456
:
It's…
457
:
Laziness is a lot like
one of these things.
458
:
Right?
459
:
These boa constrictor guys.
460
:
I'm bringing out all the
ugly animals for this.
461
:
Um, I learned this about
constriction this week.
462
:
Um, I used to think that you would
suffocate, right, if a giant snake,
463
:
you know, like constricted you.
464
:
I used to think you died by suffocation.
465
:
Not true, actually.
466
:
The way that this animal is
dying, whatever this animal is,
467
:
I think it's a mouse or a rat.
468
:
The way it's dying is
every time it breathes-
469
:
Out or in?
470
:
Out.
471
:
Out, 'cause it gets smaller
when it breathes out, right?
472
:
Every time it breathes out, the
snake gets a little bit tighter
473
:
And so it gets lit like
centimeter by centimeter.
474
:
The snake, every time it breathes,
gets a little tighter, a little
475
:
tighter, a little tighter, and
then its organs stop getting blood.
476
:
So it really stops the blood flow.
477
:
It doesn't stop it from
breathing, and that's how it dies.
478
:
But one breath's worth of
squeezing doesn't hurt it, right?
479
:
It, it's kinda like, you know, the,
the air, the, how they take your blood
480
:
pressure at the doctor, where they
fill that thing full of air, right?
481
:
And it kinda feels good at first.
482
:
I'm always scared that like, what if they
keep going and it, like, destroys my arm?
483
:
Like, what if they…
484
:
Uh, now you're gonna be scared
of that if it happens to you.
485
:
Um, but if, it kinda feels good at first.
486
:
You're like, "Oh, I like it."
487
:
Like it's, it feels good.
488
:
I don't know.
489
:
I, I enjoy it.
490
:
Maybe I'm weird.
491
:
I kind of enjoy when they start,
like, filling that thing up and you
492
:
can feel the pressure on your arm.
493
:
And similar, right, laziness
feels good at first.
494
:
If you think about it,
this starts as a hug
495
:
This starts as a hug but
then the hug doesn't stop.
496
:
Right?
497
:
The hug gets tighter and tighter
and tighter and tighter, but each
498
:
movement doesn't do anything really.
499
:
It barely does anything.
500
:
Right?
501
:
If you think about how much, when
you breathe, how much you, you can
502
:
push in, it's really not that much
503
:
Each individual moment you decide
to be lazy doesn't really hurt in
504
:
the moment, and sometimes you don't
even notice that you're being lazy.
505
:
But slowly, laziness, little by little,
moment by moment, choice by choice,
506
:
distraction by distraction, right?
507
:
Quit by quit, every time you, you
quit, you give up too early, it
508
:
constricts you, and it will kill you.
509
:
That's what Proverbs 24 says, "A little
sleep, a little slumber, a little
510
:
folding of the hands to rest, and
poverty will come upon you like a robber,
511
:
and want," not having stuff, right?
512
:
Wanting things, "like an armed man."
513
:
This happens little by little.
514
:
That's the danger of laziness, is
it happens a little bit at a time.
515
:
You are slowly becoming the
product of all of your decisions.
516
:
Every time you, you make a decision, you
make thousands of decisions every day.
517
:
You're…
518
:
It's almost like you're casting a vote.
519
:
Who do I wanna be tomorrow?
520
:
Do I wanna be a lazy person
or a hardworking person?
521
:
Every time you decide to focus when you
are tempted to get distracted, every time
522
:
you decide to do something hard that you
don't really wanna do but you know is good
523
:
for you, you're casting a vote saying, "I
wanna be a hardworking person tomorrow."
524
:
And you become that little by little.
525
:
But every time you, you check your phone
when you're supposed to be working, every
526
:
time you think your boss isn't looking
or your parents aren't there, and so you
527
:
go really slow when you're doing work.
528
:
Every time you, you do the little things,
the little compromises, oh, I, I…
529
:
You can cut the corner on, on when
you're running laps, or you, you,
530
:
you take a rep off the, the, the
amount you're supposed to do, right?
531
:
Those are all ways that you, little
by little, become a lazy person.
532
:
And the one rep didn't kill you, but
it made it easier for you to, to do
533
:
one less the next time, and it made
it easier for you to get distracted
534
:
when you should've been focusing that
other time, and it made it easier for
535
:
you to go and go and go and go, and
then suddenly, right, your organs stop
536
:
working 'cause your blood stopped, right?
537
:
But it went little by little
538
:
Every time you make an excuse and believe
it and convince yourself, "Yeah, you
539
:
know, I didn't really need to do that.
540
:
That wasn't really that
important," or, "It's okay.
541
:
It, it's fine.
542
:
I was too tired.
543
:
I didn't have to do that," or,
"They just really made me angry,
544
:
and I just needed to take that off."
545
:
Every time you believe something
like that, you're slowly, little
546
:
by little, becoming a slugger
547
:
Laziness produces destruction, but
it does it very happily, right?
548
:
Laziness makes you very
willingly go to your death.
549
:
You're like, "Oh, this is great.
550
:
I'm enjoying this," right?
551
:
It's like falling asleep.
552
:
You're like, "Oh, this is…
553
:
It's, it's…"
554
:
It just happens, and
you don't even notice it
555
:
That's what laziness does.
556
:
It's, it willingly kills.
557
:
You're like, "Oh, this is fun.
558
:
I enjoy this very slow death
that's happening to me."
559
:
The good news is though, is hard
work is also little by little, right?
560
:
Let's say you listen to the sermon,
you're really convicted, you're like,
561
:
"Oh, I'm gonna be a hard worker.
562
:
I'm gonna work for the Lord, do
things from the heart for Jesus."
563
:
Well, if you just feel that once, and
you're, you wake up tomorrow and you're
564
:
like, "Oh, I'm gonna do it," and you're
like, "All right, I'm a hard worker.
565
:
Done."
566
:
That's not gonna work out for you, right?
567
:
It happens little by little, right?
568
:
So maybe for you, if you're, let's say
you're like, "I'm really convicted.
569
:
I've, I've been lazy.
570
:
I wanna, I wanna be a hard worker," and
you ha- come up with these big plans
571
:
to do all this awesome stuff, sometimes
that's not the best way to do it.
572
:
Sometimes you just need to take a, a
little bit more, push yourself a little
573
:
bit further than you did last time.
574
:
Instead of trying to go
from, "Well, I've never…
575
:
I, I don't read the Bible at all,"
to, "Oh, I'm gonna read the, the
576
:
whole Bible in six months," right?
577
:
That's a bad idea usually, right?
578
:
Maybe you should say, "I'm gonna read one
verse every day," or, "I'm gonna read one
579
:
chapter of my favorite book of the Bible
every day," or, "Maybe I'll ask my leader
580
:
for an easy Bible reading plan to do."
581
:
Right?
582
:
You go little by little, and then
you grow, and you grow, and you keep
583
:
pushing yourself, and you keep asking
questions, and, and that's how you grow
584
:
So growth in a positive way happens
little by little, but also so does
585
:
growth in a negative way, right?
586
:
Decay happens little by little
587
:
And we talked about all those
decisions you're making, right?
588
:
Every, every minute you're just … Right,
right now, you are deciding whether
589
:
to focus or whether to zone out.
590
:
And that's you becoming more lazy or
a, a harder worker moment by moment.
591
:
What do you do?
592
:
How do you convince yourself to do that?
593
:
How do you, how do you
594
:
Because we talked about your heart, right?
595
:
It's about the heart.
596
:
It's not about, "Well, I just
gotta do this 'cause I'm supposed
597
:
to and 'cause being a Christian is
about following all these rules."
598
:
That's not what it's about, right?
599
:
Being a hard worker doesn't
make you a Christian, right?
600
:
Doing your chores better
doesn't make you a Christian
601
:
You do the chores because you love
Jesus, and you want to do them for
602
:
Him and because you love your parents,
because Jesus loved you first.
603
:
Right?
604
:
You don't do the chores and say,
"Well, now that I'm good at my chores
605
:
and that I'm obedient and I'm nice
and I work hard, I do my homework on
606
:
time, now it makes me a Christian."
607
:
That's not how it works, right?
608
:
But you need to make all these
decisions, but what do you…
609
:
How do you do that?
610
:
Well, one way you can do that
is think about the results.
611
:
Think about w- who am I gonna be tomorrow?
612
:
Where is this gonna take
me if I keep doing this?
613
:
So point number three, evaluate the
results of laziness and discipline
614
:
Evaluate the results.
615
:
Think about it.
616
:
Think about what's gonna happen.
617
:
Who am I becoming if I keep doing this?
618
:
Is this gonna make it harder for me to,
to love God or easier for me to love God?
619
:
Proverbs 25:28 says, "A man
without self-control," a person
620
:
without self-control, right?
621
:
Who doesn't have any ability to stop
themselves from doing something.
622
:
"They're like a city broken
into and left without walls."
623
:
If you think about this
back in the day, right?
624
:
When this was being written, a city needed
walls 'cause otherwise the armies would
625
:
just come in and, and take over, right?
626
:
Like, you think of Joshua, the Battle
of Jericho, what do they need to do?
627
:
They needed to take all
the walls down, right?
628
:
That's what they needed God to do
629
:
If you don't have self-control, right,
if you're an undisciplined person, you
630
:
are vulnerable because your desires
take you wherever they want you to go.
631
:
You want something, you have to do it.
632
:
You, you wanna check
your phone, you have to.
633
:
You, you feel anxious,
you have to give in.
634
:
You're tempted to lust,
you have to give in.
635
:
Something's hard, you have
to give up, you have to quit
636
:
You're vulnerable.
637
:
You are a city without walls.
638
:
Any desire can come in and
take control of your life.
639
:
Any impulse you have, you're
at the mercy of that desire.
640
:
Right?
641
:
We talked about this before, like
you're trying to walk a dog, but
642
:
really the dog's walking you, right?
643
:
Your desires are just taking you
wherever they want you to go, right?
644
:
In, in, in a sense, you're
slowly becoming like an animal.
645
:
Animals don't have self-control.
646
:
They, they s- they, they wanna
do something, they go do it.
647
:
They feel something, they,
they have to act on it.
648
:
That's why Proverbs 26 says
that a fool returns to his v-
649
:
his vomit like a dog, right?
650
:
Uh, f- really, if you're an undisciplined
person, you, you're losing part
651
:
of what it means to be human.
652
:
That you have self-control.
653
:
You can decide not to do something.
654
:
You can decide to do something.
655
:
That's hard.
656
:
So maybe to evaluate, am I letting
my, my body tell me what to do?
657
:
Right?
658
:
Oh, I'm really…
659
:
I was just really hungry, so I
had to lash out and be impatient.
660
:
Or, uh, that person just really
gets on my nerves, so I just
661
:
had to, had to get back at them.
662
:
Or you know what?
663
:
I just, these are, this is just the way
my hormones are at this age, and that's
664
:
what I have to, I have to do this.
665
:
I have to feel this way.
666
:
I have to think about these things
667
:
That's you being controlled
by your body, right?
668
:
Your, your impulses, y- your hormones,
your, the bare chemicals in your
669
:
brain are telling you what to do.
670
:
"Well, I just felt anxious, so
I just had to, had to do that.
671
:
I just was so angry, I
just couldn't stop myself."
672
:
Your feelings are walking you
673
:
Right?
674
:
Christians, by the power of
God's Spirit, not because they're
675
:
better than other people, can tell
their feelings what to do, right?
676
:
That self-control is
a fruit of the Spirit.
677
:
It's not a fruit of
you trying really hard.
678
:
And it comes from you saying, "I,
I'm gonna do this because I love God.
679
:
I love God more than my sin,
so I'm gonna say no to it,
680
:
because I'm saying yes to God."
681
:
Right?
682
:
Self-control is more than just saying no.
683
:
You have to say yes to something else.
684
:
If all you do is say no and say no and
say no, it's not gonna last very long.
685
:
You have to say yes to something else.
686
:
That's the secret of self-control
687
:
Something else you can think about is
how does this affect other people, right?
688
:
How does me being lazy
affect other people?
689
:
Maybe you think, "Oh, I, I really don't
wanna be a, a lazy person," and you're
690
:
like, "Well, I don't wanna do my homework.
691
:
It's just too hard.
692
:
I don't get it.
693
:
I don't wanna try really hard."
694
:
But think about, well, is this making
me, preparing me to be a, a good
695
:
husband or a good wife one day, or
a good worker or a good teammate?
696
:
If you're always giving up on
stuff, you're gonna be a letdown
697
:
for your team in the future, right?
698
:
One time, um, one of my least
favorite memories, I, uh, ran away
699
:
from soccer practice, um, because
I felt like I was the worst player
700
:
on the team, and I probably was.
701
:
Um, and I was like, "My team must hate me.
702
:
They must think I'm horrible.
703
:
They must think I'm the worst.
704
:
There's no way they like me."
705
:
And so I just, like, wouldn't go, and
I, like, ran into the parking lot and,
706
:
like, hid from everyone because I was
707
:
I felt like such a letdown to my team.
708
:
I was like, whenever the coach was on the
field, I was like, I didn't want the ball.
709
:
Like, I would just … Like, the ball came
to me, I would just pass it to someone.
710
:
I was like, "I don't want this."
711
:
Like, I … It was just … 'Cause I
felt like I was letting everyone down.
712
:
I felt like I was a liability.
713
:
Right?
714
:
Laziness makes you a liability
715
:
People can't count on you to do things.
716
:
You can't do-- No one can trust
you with important things because
717
:
y- you're not gonna finish them.
718
:
You're not gonna do them.
719
:
You're gonna give up.
720
:
It's too hard
721
:
So think about how it affects others.
722
:
How does my, how is me working
hard gonna affect others?
723
:
Well, they can trust
me, they can rely on me.
724
:
I can be a blessing to them.
725
:
I can serve them.
726
:
That's, that's a good thing
to think about, right?
727
:
Also, if you work hard, you can enjoy
the things that you really want to do.
728
:
Uh, I don't know if you've
ever thought this to yourself.
729
:
I think about it a lot.
730
:
I would be so much happier
if I was more disciplined.
731
:
Because every time I do something that's
lacking self-control, the next day I'm
732
:
usually like, "Oh, that was super lame.
733
:
Why'd I do that?
734
:
I regret it."
735
:
Right, whoever is slothful, whoever's
lazy, they won't roast his game.
736
:
Like imagine someone's hunting something,
and they catch this, like, delicious,
737
:
like, deer or something, right?
738
:
And they just leave it out there.
739
:
They go through all the work.
740
:
They, they, you know, they, they
got in the stand, and they, they
741
:
found it, and they shot it, and
they, like, all this stuff, and then
742
:
they're just like, "Oh, okay, cool.
743
:
Done."
744
:
They don't get to enjoy the benefits of
what they did 'cause they didn't finish.
745
:
They didn't follow through, right?
746
:
If you're working hard, you get to
enjoy the things you really want to do.
747
:
If you're a disciplined person, you can
actually do the things you want to do.
748
:
If you're lazy, you're not gonna
be able to do anything you want.
749
:
You feel like you're doing the stuff
you want 'cause you're avoiding
750
:
hard things, but really, you're
not doing anything you want to do.
751
:
Last thing, too, is in
Proverbs 20 verse four.
752
:
"The sluggard does not plow in autumn.
753
:
He will seek at harvest and have nothing."
754
:
If you're lazy, you miss out on
future opportunities, and you're
755
:
not ready for future challenges.
756
:
And especially at your
stage, this is critical.
757
:
You are becoming the adult
that you're gonna be.
758
:
And I know people probably tell you that,
and you're like, "Oh, that's so far away."
759
:
Right, if you're a senior
760
:
This summer is your last
summer camp and you're done.
761
:
No more.
762
:
You don't get them back
763
:
Right?
764
:
If you're an eighth grader, this is
your last year in middle school, right?
765
:
It, it just happens.
766
:
It goes by.
767
:
You have opportunities that you
are gonna need to be ready for and
768
:
you might miss out on them, right?
769
:
You might be a really bad husband
because you've been a lazy teenager
770
:
You might be harming your future
family, your future kids, your future
771
:
husband because you are a lazy teenager.
772
:
You might be doing that right now
773
:
You might be building bad habits
that are gonna take you years to undo
774
:
because of what you're doing right now.
775
:
Right?
776
:
You're becoming the type of
person you're gonna be, and it's
777
:
gonna happen just like that.
778
:
And that's why this is so important.
779
:
This is why this is really life or death.
780
:
So let's pray, then
we'll go to small groups
781
:
Father, I pray for all of us that you
help us to take life more seriously.
782
:
I pray that we enjoy the good
gifts that you give us, but I
783
:
also pray that we realize that
everything we're doing matters.
784
:
Everything we're doing matters
forever, um, because it's
785
:
for you or it's not for you.
786
:
And so I pray that you help us to really
focus on becoming the type of people
787
:
that you want us to be, and I pray that
we even keep others in mind and that we
788
:
would, um, remember the consequences of
being lazy and the joys of working hard.
789
:
Help us to have a good
discussion in small groups.
790
:
Help us to be honest.
791
:
Help us to be focused, and we
pray this all in Jesus' name.
792
:
Amen
