Rise Above Our Nature

As human beings, whether on our own or in concert, we have a limitless capacity for incapacity. Our rationalizations spin in logical circles around the targets of our reflection. If it's something we want to avoid or escape, we seem to think, "wish it gone and make it so!" As might be expected from a God of action and purpose, He wants us to rise above our human nature.

Proverbs 26

13The lazy man says, "There is a lion in the road!
A fierce lion is in the streets!"
14As a door turns on its hinges,
So does the lazy man on his bed.
15The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl;
It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
16The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven men who can answer sensibly.

We can see the dangers, we recognize the threats around us. It's almost as if we interrupt whatever normal thinking process would guide our response, and substitute an alternative logic that requires complete inactivity. God speaks through Proverbs, drawing attention to the image of a sleeper, who may rouse himself just enough to say, "Look there," but not enough to actually react.

The other image shown here is of the lost man who is too lazy even to feed himself, when the food is readily at hand. There are times in God's provision and Grace that what we need for life is just that close, and the only obstacle to our achieving our purpose is but to raise our hands. And yet, in the midst of our waking slumbers, we knowingly reflect on how wise we are in all (in our own eyes).

We might recall from Proverbs 24, that famous line quoted by Shakepeare (to different purpose):

33A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;

And in the end, destruction follows close at hand.