Christian Living

There's a Lion Outside

by Terry Barlow
06/02/17
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  Twice in the book of Proverbs we find a verse referring to the sluggard or the slothful proclaiming that there's a lion outside in order to excuse and justify inactivity, because in one of those passages he claims that he might be killed in the streets if he ventured out from within his four walls. (Proverbs 22 v.13)  The other passage in Proverbs 26 goes on to say that "the sluggard turns in his bed as a door on its hinges." It seems to fit another proverb that states that a son "who sleeps during harvest causes shame." (Proverbs 10, v5) The Bible also tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5, v8)  Lions tend to prey on the stragglers among the flock and the isolated. The sluggards in Christian circles may know from experience or observation the reality of the devil and the demonic realm and may choose to avoid any actions or ministerial activity that would provoke the devil's resistance and plunge them into spiritual warfare.  They know from John 10 that the thief comes to rob, kill and destroy, so they also know its true that followers of Jesus have been hurt or lost their lives in His service. Sluggards in this sense are not only lazy, but allow themselves to be dominated by fear.  They forget that as submitted believers we have the God-given authority to resist the devil with the assurance that he will flee from us.  (James 4, v.7)  As a result they deny themselves the joy of obedience found in co-laboring with the Master, who assures us in Matthew 11 verse 30 that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  We must trust Jesus as He tells us these words.  Perhaps there is at least a little something of the sluggard in all of us or one that is slow to believe, slow to follow and hesitant to fight the battle or what the Apostle Paul called "the good fight of faith." (1 Timothy 6, v.12)