Pray

Read: Ecc 4:4-5.

Meditation

Solomon has another observation on individualism for us in verse five: “The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.” Now, like last time, you might be asking again: What has this got to do with individualism? Let me try and show you. Notice the description of this man. The first thing we see is that he is lazy. He sits, he folds his hands, and he does nothing. And as a result, he consumes himself.

Notice too that Solomon draws our attention to this man’s isolation. Perhaps you are asking: Where do we see isolation here? Look closely. He does not serve others. He is not with others. He is not talking to others. He is eating his own flesh, focusing on himself. There is an emphasis here on the way he is absorbed in himself, and in doing so he is destroying himself. Just as there is a connection between envy and isolation, so too there is a connection between laziness and isolation.

This makes sense when you think about it. It could well be that the reason so many Australians do not get to know each other is because they cannot be bothered. It takes effort to try and get to know your neighbours. It takes a willingness to serve, and sometimes to deal with difficult people. Laziness says, I can’t be bothered. And as it sits there by itself, it is consumed.

Now that is true literally in the sense of work. If you do not work, if you are lazy, you will have no money and no food. But it is also true socially and spiritually. Laziness really is a force of spiritual destruction. It isolates the one who is lazy and cuts him off from usefulness, love, and service in the community of God’s people. Laziness in our devotional life will leave us isolated from God. If we are too lazy to listen to him, and too lazy to speak with him in prayer, it will be destructive in our lives.

And so again we need to consider ourselves in this area as well. Are we lazy? Are we letting idleness grow in our hearts? Are we apathetic about growing in Christ? Are we neglectful in seeking the Lord? Are we unproductive? Are we generally isolated because we are not putting the effort in to grow in relationships with others? If we are lazy, we will not grow. We will start consuming ourselves. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

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Ep 136: Individualism is... lazy? (Ecc 4:5)