One of the worst ways to describe someone is lazy.
There’s an equally dangerous extreme where someone is so devoted to working that it consumes all their time, and everything else is relegated to just working. That’s something not always addressed or evident because there’s a sort of understanding of the value and purpose of work. The kind of understanding that says that to earn, you’ve got to work. That’s a fair understanding, but it's open to abuse. The type of abuse that has someone’s identity totally tied to the work they do. To the point that they are only referred to by what they do, and any threat to that is a threat to life itself. This is something I’m reasonably familiar with. I’ve experienced one or two seasons of being in between work. When I experienced it at a time early in marriage, I was depressed. The sense in which I was responsible for the young family and to “be the man” and no longer having work sent me spiralling to question my purpose and function. And this was as someone who claimed to have a relationship with Jesus. I did have such a relationship, but that season helped me to see how I needed to adjust my attitude to find my sense of self in Christ, not the activity I do.
Yet, we still have that word - lazy. As piercing and derogatory terms go, being referred to as lazy is probably only surpassed by being called a fool. For some, there’s a stage in the transition from childhood to adulthood where that accusation is made. Unless you’re in an ultra-disciplined set-up like an army barrack, some in that transition can be accused of laziness. They are so capable and yet so seemingly unwilling to put in the effort to do a range of things, from tidying up the bedroom to applying themselves to schoolwork. When you’re referred to as lazy, it’s a jab that is not just making an observation; it’s dismissing the individual in a searing way.
The accusation can lead to a commitment to prove the accusers wrong in a display of industrious approaches to life. Or it can reinforce the behaviour that led to the accusation. Sometimes, the thought of those accused is to shrug their shoulders and say, well, if that’s what you think, I’m not too bothered to change your thinking.
It’s sad because it’s either a cycle of defiance or a cycle of defeat. The former is based on antipathy, and the latter is based on apathy. These are not the best foundations for appreciating the value of work.
Jesus was aware of work. He could not be accused of laziness at all. Even when He left His time as a carpenter, it was to enter a series of work that clearly taxed Him to the degree that He’d take opportunities to sleep in boats and escape the maddening crowds. From that perspective, He also invited those burdened to find rest in Him. He recognised burdens and how those in society were belaboured with expectations under challenging circumstances. His invitation to rest in Him and find rest in Him was an invitation that returned those who responded to a sense of right relationship with God and work.
Later, still not long before His arrest, Jesus would inform those who followed Him how they could find the right dynamic of production and the proper purpose of work. That purpose was in abiding in Him. One of the best things a dear friend did for me was to challenge me to investigate what it means to abide in Christ. My friend was not content with the surface level of what it means to abide. He challenged me to see what it was to allow the life of Christ to influence me and to find my life in Christ—learning from Him, trusting in Him, resting in Him ... and working from that basis even as God called His people to observe a day of rest that was a declaration of understanding that what works isn’t about what we work but what He works in and through us and works around us as we appreciate Him at work.
Appreciating Him at work means we don’t have to place our dependence on our efforts. It also reminds us that whatever we can do is only possible because of His work in us. That’s something we can rest on. That’s something we can work from. That helps us not to be overwhelmed by work. That also allows us to avoid the issue of being lazy.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
