Idleness

In Paul's second letter to the church in Thessolonica he warns the
Christians there about hanging out with followers of Jesus who are
living in idleness, and since laziness is one of my key struggles in
life, it hit me right between the eyes this cold fall Monday morning.

Idleness
is so easy. It is physics, for crying out loud. An body at rest will
remain at rest until some outside force causes it to move. I often find
myself at rest, and not much in the mood to get moving. The trash
might need to go out, but my chair is much more comfortable. The baby
might be fussing, but the Steeler highlight is coming up next on
SportsCenter. The elementary school might need help mowing the grass,
but my evenings are already pretty full. Morning Prayer beckons every
day, but the act of saying a corporate service by myself feels silly.
The excuses for my idleness go on and on and on.

There is,
however, and outside force at work. Jesus, who after his resurrection
called on his disciples to meet him where he had gone on ahead, is
always just ahead of me, calling me to follow, to get up, to keep
moving.

We have a saying in our household, "Laziness creates more
work." And its true. You always end up fixing the mistake you made in
your laziness AND doing the task you originally had to do anyway. So
this morning, in the spirit of Paul, I'm praying for my tendency toward
idleness to be taken away and for the Spirit of God to propel me ever
forward.