OCCUPY: Proverbs

Proverbs 24:33-34

33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

This is a repeated theme, worded verbatim in Proverbs 6:10-11

It is always easier to hit snooze than it is to get up right away.  It is always harder to get up once you've set yourself down to relax.

God designed our bodies.  We actually NEED sleep.  To refuse to sleep and stay up working and toiling because we have so much to do is to defy God's design for who you are.  It is not godly to stay up all night per se.  It can be if you do so praying or assisting in a time of crisis, etc...  But on a regular day - one not governed by the exception, but the rule - sleep is necessary.  It is wise to go to bed early if you have to be up early.  It is foolish to stay up late because you have "so much to do."  Because you have so much to do, you should rest and allow your body and mind to refresh and recharge to tackle the tasks that lay ahead of you. 

I know, I know. You're a night person, right?  I do not deny that there is something exhilirating about freely staying up later than normal.  It can be really fun.  And I am not even saying it is wrong or sinful to stay up late (sometimes).  It can be, however, if you completely live in defiance of how you were created and the One who created it that way.  Furthermoe, we're all "night" people.  We all love wasting time on stuff we like and putting off that which is imposing until tomorrow.  Most of our "night" activities are nothing more than quadrant 4 activities.  It would be different, in some regard, if one was diligently burning the midnight oil rather than burning off steam.

We defy Jesus' teaching of not worrying about tomorrow in making today's troubles tomorrow's by putting them off today.  Say that five times fast! We often would not have to worry about tomorrow if we did today what we ought to have done.

Sleep easy Christian.  Jesus is our rest. 

Work hard Christian.  Jesus wants your neighbor to see your labors.

***TANGENT ALERT***

Jesus calls disciples to empty themselves, not store up things outside of themselves in barns.  We read the parable of the man and his bigger barns and think it alien and unlikely.  But "barns" is just another word for what we call "closets" - and who doesn't love a big Master closet? 

"Yeah baby! I want to be the master and commander of by big ol' closet." 

Did you know some people actually build houses for their cars? 

"Yeah, they're called garages." 

***BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING***

Poverty comes quickly upon those who want.  Rest comes gently to those who work.

Ecclesiastes 5:12

¹² The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.