Idleness

~ DeborahMarie

brown and white short coated dog lying

I don’t like being idle, it makes me anxious.  I get the feeling, “I should be doing something.”

God is not a fan of idleness.

Idle Words:  Matthew 12:36 “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.”  

Idle Lives:  Proverbs 19:15  Lazy people sleep soundly, but idleness leaves them hungry.  

2 Thessalonians 3:6 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us.” 

2 Thessalonians 3:7 “For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you.”

2 Thessalonians 3:11 “Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.” 

Idleness is “doing nothing when you should be doing something” and often stems from not having a specific goal or purpose in mind. With no goal, we can be easily distracted and led into sin.  If we have nothing to do, the devil is all too eager to find things to occupy our time.

1 Timothy 5:13  “They get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.   

Idleness is not the same as rest. The Bible advises us to take breaks from work and to enter into His rest.  Rest for His purposes.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  

Instead of wasting time doing nothing or very little while moving aimlessly through life, redeem your time wisely.

Ephesians 5:16-17 “So be careful how you live. Live as men who are wise and not foolish. Make the best use of your time. These are sinful days. Do not be foolish. Understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

Colossians 4:5-6 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

So how do we overcome idleness?  By following Jesus’ example.

Jesus was all about doing His Father’s business.

Luke 2:49 “And He said unto them, “How is it that ye sought Me? Knew ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?”

……….., and so should we.  There is work to be done for the Kingdom.

    Share the Gospel
    Read/study/meditate on the Word of God
    Pray for others
    Call and check on a friend
  • Text or send a card to a friend
  • Volunteer

Do everything for the glory of God and the good of others.

 

 

Photo by Creative Workshop on Pexels.com

Published by DeborahMarie

I'm a child of Jehovah God, a wife, and mother. My inspiration to write comes from the Word of God, and the goal of my writing is to influence people to follow after Jesus Christ. If just one person comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I will have accomplished what I set out to do. The name of my blog comes from knowing that God has been faithful to me, and I want to testify to His faithfulness! Lamentations 3:22-23 "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." ~Blessings!

23 thoughts on “Idleness”

  2. Deb, you have shared an inspiring post. I think back to the idleness of a few of my mind middle school students from a few years ago. Bless our Lord for bringing this discussion for me to read and think about it my own life. God’s peace!

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  3. I like to keep busy, and I tend to feel lost if without a plan. I am a list maker! I do like to take time for devotional and resting in the Spirit, but probably not enough time. 🌺🌻

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  5. A good reminder that there is a difference in being idle and taking rest. An idle mind is definitely a devil’s workshop – as the saying goes.
    Thanks for sharing Deb 💙.

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  6. I enjoyed reading this post Miss.DeborahMarie. We must check ourselves. There is surely a difference between rest and idleness. The enemy is always roaring looking for someone to devour. May we fix our eyes on God and do what we are called to do 🙏🏿

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  7. Such a vitally important and well expressed topic, Deb! What comes to mind as I take in your words is the Scripture from Philippians where Paul says, If I am to go on living in the body, it will mean fruitful labor for me. That verse encourages me a lot, that God has a wonderful Kingdom purpose for all of our days here on Planet Earth!

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  8. This is definitely no time to be idle! We must be about our Father’s business, seeking Him wholeheartedly and making the most of our time here on Earth. Putting Him first will ensure quality over quantity so that what we do with our time will be effective. Thanks Deb! Timely post. 🤗💕

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  9. Good thoughts from your heart and from scripture, Deb! There is always something that we can be doing rather than doing nothing. Except on vacation. On vacation, we can do nothing, right? Can you tell I’m on vacation right now? 🙂 🙂 Bless you, Deb!

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  10. Thanks for that reminder, Deb! We need to keep busy! I know with those who have gardens coming in, it’s a busy time of the year, putting up food for the winter. I sure do need some of that rest you were talking about! 😅
    I wrote a post touching a little on that same subject today! Wow! It was a study on Proverbs 1. 🤗🌻

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