🦁 Is there a 'lion' in your path today?
Base Text: Proverbs 26:13-16
INTRODUCTION
We all know what lions entail. They are some of the most feared and powerful beasts on earth, great hunters. Seeing a lion in a cage catches our attention, however, outside of it, it instills fear; its roars, and what it has been seen doing generates terror.
But there exist, according to the revelation and wisdom that God gave to Solomon, lions invented by the lazy, by the sluggards, which are destroying the life of that person.
Solomon also declares them within the line of the "FOOLS". The question is: What lion is in your path today? How are laziness and spiritual apathy killing many? What is happening with the church?
1. "The sluggard says, 'There is a lion in the road'" (Proverbs 26:13)
"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!'" (NIV)
Imagine a peasant in biblical times. They knew lions well. He decides not to go out to work, nor to sow because he says: "the lion is in the road and will eat me". His wife goes out to check and says: "there is nothing". The next day he answers: "now there are two lions".
These comparisons were not inventions of the writer or literary imaginations; it was something that happened. And the teaching reveals to us why many fail, why there are people who do not advance in the natural, but also in the spiritual. Why have many stopped growing today?
a) There is a Lion that truly roars
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." — 1 Peter 5:8
- Yes, there is a real lion: the devil.
- But today that one is not stopping you... but the ones you invented.
2. Laziness: The root of excuses
- Laziness in Hebrew is עָצֵל (ʿā∙ṣēl): sluggard, lazy. It is related to being slow to act, which implies a lack of discipline and initiative. It is understood as a moral failure.
- Synonyms of laziness: Inactivity, idleness, apathy, negligence, carelessness. The opposite of diligence and action.
Boredom: Paralysis of the soul
There is another synonym for this word "laziness" which is called "boredom" (acedia). According to John Climacus: "Boredom is a paralysis of the soul, mental weakness, negligence in pious exercises, contempt for vows, complacency in worldly things".
This boredom is what is making many lazy. Their spiritual life is in free fall, and they do not have enough strength to grow. The paralysis of the soul has them with the perfect excuses: they claim that due to lack of time they no longer see the need to seek God.
This kind of believers want the short services to end. They say "Sunday morning is enough for me". They don't show up on a Tuesday because "it's too much", or they say "I've been through that, I used to be a fanatic". Then they invent Lions.
THE 3 LIONS OF THE SLUGGARD
1) The lion of "I have no strength"
"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!'" — Proverbs 26:13 NIV
Exhaustion, fainting, and discouragement are a Lion that is destroying lives. They believe: "what is the point of so much effort?" (Malachi 3:14: "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God...'").
- Mental weakness is causing people to invent things and excuses that stop the advance of the church.
- When we are lazy or do less than we can, in reality we are sinning: we are ignoring what God wanted us to be and, therefore, we stop his plan, not just our productivity.
- "It's that I'm sick, it's that I don't have time, it's that I'm discouraged, it's that they don't understand me". They are all lions in the path that are stopping you. The productivity level of many Christians is at very low levels.
The people of the past had dreams, fought, struggled, achieved, did not give up. Today they are fragile, weak, with laziness and invented lions. Christians used to be strong mentally: "Come on, we can do it, I will be here, God called me to serve!".
The consequence of being like this is PARALYSIS.
2) The lion of unproductivity
"As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed." — Proverbs 26:14 NIV
- Laziness leads to poverty in the literal sense. If we think about the problems of our world, it is clear that laziness (along with funds) is often the obstacle to solving them.
- But in the spiritual realm, excuses and "spiritual laziness" (detachment from spiritual disciplines) are weakening us, leading us to produce nothing in the Kingdom of God.
"A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth." — Proverbs 26:15 NIV
- The spirit that is operating in them is one of tiredness and fatigue. It is not the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is "action", "motivation", "joy", "gladness". A spiritual person does not invent obstacles, he tears them down.
- When you hear "I am too tired" it becomes evident that laziness breeds more laziness (Proverbs 19:15). With the sluggard, inactivity becomes a habit.
The modern world says: "Dedicate yourself to your own thing". God's wisdom says: "Dedicate yourself to God's things!" (Proverbs 19:16).
The consequence of being like this is natural and spiritual IMPOVERISHMENT.
3) The lion of "I'm fine as I am"
"A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly." — Proverbs 26:16 NIV
- There are 7 kinds of fools in the bible, but there is the fool dominated by laziness and mental inventions that make him believe he is wiser than everyone else, "because he thinks his argument is valid".
- He who invents lions, believes them. There is no one to advise him because he feels gifted. He says "I'm fine as I am", becoming rude, haughty, and argumentative.
- There are people paralyzed not by an attack, but by an excuse they repeated so much that it already seems true to them. And whoever believes they are already fine... stops growing.
The consequence of living like this is the HARDENING of the heart.
CONCLUSION
What lions are you inventing? What excuses are leading you to procrastinate and fill yourself with laziness? Have you stopped being fertile ground and become spiritually unproductive?
Kill those lions TODAY. Let's stop being lukewarm and draw near to the spiritual fire.
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." — Romans 12:11 NIV
It is impossible to experience joy and laziness at the same time.
The sluggard invents lions... and then lives running away from them.
- He runs away from commitment...
- He runs away from the calling...
- He runs away from purpose...
"The lion is not in the street... it is in your mind... and as long as you do not kill it... you will never advance."