What is the meaning of Proverbs 22:13? The slacker says • The verse opens by identifying the speaker as “the slacker,” a person habitually avoiding work (cf. Proverbs 10:4; 21:25). • Scripture consistently contrasts diligence with laziness: “The hand of the diligent will rule” (Proverbs 12:24), while “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep” (Proverbs 19:15). • By recording the slacker’s words, the proverb exposes how excuses arise from a heart unwilling to obey God’s call to responsible labor (see Colossians 3:23–24). “There is a lion outside!” • The claim sounds dramatic, but Proverbs 26:13 repeats the same excuse, underscoring its absurdity. • Laziness often magnifies potential difficulties into insurmountable dangers: “The sluggard does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks but finds nothing” (Proverbs 20:4). • God’s Word teaches prudent awareness of real danger (Proverbs 22:3), yet this imaginary lion illustrates fear used as a smokescreen to justify inaction. “I will be slain in the streets!” • The slacker heightens the excuse, predicting certain death if he ventures out. The exaggeration reveals his unwillingness, not genuine threat. • Jesus warns against such paralyzing fear: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27). • Faith trusts God’s protection while acting responsibly (Psalm 121:7–8), whereas sloth hides behind worst-case scenarios to avoid obedience. summary Proverbs 22:13 unmasks the lazy person’s habit of manufacturing wild excuses to dodge duty. Instead of honest work and trusting God’s care, the slacker dramatizes imagined dangers. The verse challenges believers to reject exaggerated fears, embrace diligent labor, and walk by faith, confident that God blesses obedience and industry. |
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