Idleness Is an Empty Goal

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1)

With my weekly trips to Nashville, I have passed more lottery signs, more frequently, than any other time in my life.  Seeing the massive rewards for a winning number, one cannot help but think, “What would I do with all that money?”  Many of the answers involve full-time leisurely travel, dedication to hobbies, or immediate retirement.  It is a common fantasy that reflects a sickness in our culture.  The desire for idleness as an ultimate goal.  We pretend that there is a finish line.  Well, eternity has no finish line, and neither does our role in the work of kingdom.  

There was work in the garden, so you cannot assume that there will not be work in the kingdom.  Our culture thrives on setting expectations of leisure for us to pursue in and of itself.   We have manufactured a society that actively seeks to attain the privilege of idleness.  Beware of its seductive nature, because like wealth, it’s an empty goal.  Yes, we can desire rest, but that is recuperative in nature, not the endgame.  Furthermore, we should be frightened with its banality.  Aspire to more, God commands it.

Biblically, we are warned to avoid idleness in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.  For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work but busybodies.”  Today in America, there are more than 7,000,000 men in the prime working years of their life (25 – 54), who have chosen to voluntarily leave the work force.  Perhaps they think that the “9-to-5” is a reason for their dissatisfaction; or that the corporate grind fails to inspire motivation.  Perhaps, with all the time to themselves, they can finally be free to pursue their happiness.  I, myself, have felt the pull of that seduction.  

There is truth in their motivation to leave the work force; the corporate grind can drain one of any desire to work.  But the real truth lies deeper.  Many of these men have lost their connection to God and family.  They no longer feel responsible to anyone, and therefore the empty rewards of the world are all that is left to them.  The reward of vigorous labor is not money, but in the supporting the ones we love, worldly and heavenly.  There is bread that we cannot purchase with cash.

Of course, as believers, we know that we have already won the lottery.  Salvation through Christ provides us the freedom from all worldly anxieties if we choose to embrace our faith and believe God’s word.  But imagine if we sat on the laurels of Christ’s sacrifice and stood idle.  That is not a true reflection of faith and love of the Lord.  The sustenance our spirit needs is our “daily bread” purchased not with dollars, euros, or yuan, but with faithful devotion.  No amount of lottery winnings will satisfy that hunger.  No amount of idleness will provide the satisfaction that we gain through faithful work.  As Christians, we should seek to combat a cultural goal that isolates us from God.  Get to work.  

Your Brother in Christ,

Thomas Goodrich