Watch Out for That Lion!

Mike Johnson

Proverbs 22:13 says, “The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” If a lion were outside of a person’s house, he would be wise to stay inside. However, in that it is a slothful (or lazy) man speaking, it is clear that the man in verse 13 is merely making an excuse for not working. (Some think that the man is saying this, “If I go in the country, a lion will get me, if I go in the town, I might get murdered.”) 

Today, many people make excuses to shirk essential spiritual responsibilities. One common reason given by people to justify the neglect of spiritual duties is they do not have enough time. There are a limited number of hours in the day. For all of us, there are things we would like to do, but we do not have enough time. Yet, for example, if you have plumbing problems in your house, which necessitates turning off the water, would you call a plumber and even wait for him to come if necessary? For most everyone, the answer would be “yes.” Why would we be able to make the time for these needed repairs? The reason is that it is essential to have water in our homes.

Generally, we make a mental list of tasks we have to do each day (Some people literally will write out a list.) Those tasks we consider the most important are at the top of our list. For example, we have to get up, eat, get dressed, and work each day. Further, if a person is nearly out of gas, he will take the time to stop and get some. Since buying gas is a priority, very few people will regularly run out of gas because they do not have the time to get it. Each day, we work our way down a “list,” for which we use our limited time. The most important items are at the top of the list; less critical tasks (such as cleaning out our garage, for example) are at the bottom of the list. 

How does this apply to serving God? “I don’t have the time” is an excuse used by many Christians for not doing what they ought to do. We say that we don’t have time, for example, to visit the sick and the erring, attend Gospel Meetings, study the Bible, teach a class, prepare a sermon, read the bulletin, be an elder, or work in maintaining the church building. Is “time” really the issue, or is it just an excuse? Our problem is usually one of priorities, not time. It seems that many people have spiritually-related tasks, such as those listed above, too far down their list. Consequently, there is not enough time to get far enough down the daily list as these endeavors are. Typically having priority over spiritual endeavors are playing golf, watching TV, sleeping late, reading a book, quietly sitting around, or surfing on the web.

Have you considered the difference between “important” and “urgent”? Most Christians would label visiting a sick person or teaching a Bible class as necessary, but we need to label such endeavors as “urgent.” That which we only mark as important may not ever get done; that which we label as “urgent,” we typically do quickly. From a practical standpoint, however, many Christians will consider watching their favorite television programs or teams as “urgent” and, sadly, will label Bible study only as important.

We all need to start zealously serving God, but we think that we do not have the time that it takes to do so. We say, “I can’t; there is a lion outside.” Not having the time is just an excuse; it is not usually an issue of time. It is a matter of choosing what is most important to us. Romans 12:11 (NKJV) says that we are not to lag in diligence but are to be “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”