The curse of sloth.
Religious teachers are sometimes unwilling to touch upon common faults, such as are noticeable by every observer as prevailing too generally in the everyday life of their fellow-men. The Scriptures give no countenance to such negligence, but, on the contrary, deal faithfully with those errors and evil habits which are alien from the Christian character, and which are injurious to: human society. Slothfulness was peculiarly hateful to the writer of this book, who inculcated diligence as a religious duty, and exhibited in homely but effective ways the results of its prevalence.
I. TEMPTATIONS TO SLOTH ARE MANY. Work must be done, some will admit; but it may be left to others, or it may be put off to a more convenient season. Work need not be done, others will declare; much may be left undone which some people think of importance, but which is not really so. Upon the plea of ill health, or mental inability, or preoccupation, multitudes, in this world where there is so much to be done, sink into slothful, indolent habits and a useless life,
II. THE FOLLY OF SLOTH IS EASILY MADE EVIDENT.
1. The slothful man is his own enemy. Had he exerted himself and exercised his powers, he would have grown an abler and a better man. Who does not know persons with undeniable gifts who have "wrapped their talent in a napkin," and who have morally deteriorated, until they have become worthless members of society?
2. The slothful man wrongs society. Every man is born into this world to do a work for the general good. To live in idleness and comfort upon the produce of others' toil is to inflict a positive injury. Others have to labor in order that the idle may be fed. Work is left undone for which the indolent possess, it may be, some peculiar gift. For the life of the slothful the world is none the better.
III. THE SIN OF SLOTH IS CONDEMNED BY THE WORD OF GOD. The Book of Proverbs contains some very striking reflections and statements upon this point. And for the Christian it is enough to consider the example of the Lord Jesus, who with all his consecrated energy devoted himself to his Father's will and work. How alien from the Master's spirit is the habit of the indolent! We cannot lose sight of the fact that, in the last judgment, the "wicked and slothful servant" must hear words of condemnation.
IV. PRESERVATIVES FROM SLOTH MAY BE FOUND IN THE PROVISIONS OF GOD'S GRACE.
1. Prayer prompts to watchfulness and toil.
2. Attention to the counsels and admonitions of God's Word cannot fail to be serviceable in delivering us from temptations to slothfulness.
3. Meditation upon the example of our Savior and Lord will stimulate to diligence and zeal. They who by the indwelling of his Spirit are one with him will share his devotion to the Father's will, his consecration to the welfare of mankind.—T.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
The dead fly in the ointment.
"So doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor" (Revised Version). It is a fact well worth a wise man's thought, that the presence of even a very little evil is found to be enough to counterbalance or undo much that is good. We find this in circumstance, in action, in character. Our everyday life supplies many illustrations.
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF A MAN. Not without reason does the moralist speak of the "one crumpled leaf" spoiling the worth of the "bed of roses." Ahab still makes himself miserable because he cannot have Naboth's vineyard in addition to all his property. It is not only true that "some murmur when their sky is clear" if one "small speck of dark appear" in their heavens; it is true that very many do. If we are depending on our surroundings for our satisfaction, we shall give one more illustration of "the dead fly in the ointment."
II. HUMAN ADVOCACY. A man may present an important case to his audience; he may have made diligent and ample preparation; he may deliver his address with much logical force, with much felicity of style, with much animation of spirit; and yet he may fail to convince, and he may lose his cause through one mistake. He may make use of one offensive expression, or he may produce one palpably weak argument, on which his opponents fasten; then all the good gained by his persuasiveness is lost by the harm done by his simple indiscretion. Much wisdom is outweighed by a little folly.
III. HUMAN CHARACTER, AND THE INFLUENCE IT EXERTS. We are always acting upon our kindred and our neighbors by our character, and by the conduct of which it is the source. And, as a rule, the good and wise man is thus helping to make others good and wise; bat there may be the "dead fly in the ointment" here. Truthfulness, righteousness, purity, kindness,—these qualities are calculated to tell powerfully upon those who daily witness them; but if there be in the midst of these an admixture of severity, or of exaggeration, or of parsimoniousness, or of sarcasm, much if not most of the good influence may be lost; the virtues and the graces are forgotten, while the one blemish is remembered. The same thing, in much the same way, applies to—
IV. HUMAN REPUTATION. A man may be building up a most honorable reputation through many years of toilful and virtuous life; he may succeed in winning the regard of his fellow-citizens, and then by one serious indiscretion—pecuniary, social, domestic, political, ecclesiastical—he may have to step down from his high position. It may not be a crime or a sin, but a serious mistake, an act in which he was very ill advised, a proceeding in which his judgment was sadly at fault—but it is enough; it upsets the fabric which had been laboriously constructed, and bat little honor will be accorded to him.
1. In our judgment of others we should distinguish between the superficial and the essential, between the exceptional and the common.
2. We should refuse to allow the one insignificant evil to disturb the harmony of our spirit, to spoil the brightness and excellency of our life.
3. We are bound to be devoutly careful lest we permit our influence over others to be materially weakened by a blemish in our character or an indiscretion in our conduct.—C.
Verse 8 (former part)
Sin suicidal.
"He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul" (Proverbs 8:36); he that seeks to do injury to others brings trouble upon himself; with the measure and after the manner with which he deals will he himself be dealt with. Evil intents, as also good ones, recoil upon their author—in the one case in penalty, and in the other in blessing. As we observe, we see that—
I. EVIL BEGETS EVIL AFTER ITS OWN KIND.
1. Violence begets violence. "They that take the sword perish with the sword;" not, of course, with absolute and unfailing regularity, but generally; so commonly that the professional warrior and, still more, the uncontrollably passionate man may expect to come to a violent end. But, apart from fatal consequences, it is a constantly recurring fact that men give back blow for blow, litigation for litigation, hard measure for hard measure.
2. Cunning begets cunning. The crafty man is the likeliest of all to be caught with guile. Men have a peculiar pleasure and take especial pride in outwitting the neighbor who is trying to take advantage of them. So that he who is always laying traps for his fellows is in greatest danger of being himself entrapped.
3. Contempt begets aversion. There are those who from the pedestal of (often imaginary) superiority look down upon their companions with supercilious disregard; their attitude is one of haughtiness, their language and conduct that of condescension. These proud ones suffer as they deserve; they pay an appropriate penalty; their neighbors resent their assumption; they pass them by with aversion; they speak of them with condemnation; they leave them to loneliness and friendlessness.
4. Slander begets reproach. Men that are unscrupulously complaining of others, hastily or ill-naturedly ascribing to them mistakes or misdeeds, are the men whose own shortcoming is quickly detected and unsparingly condemned (see Matthew 7:1, Matthew 7:2). Thus sin (or folly) smites itself; it thinks to injure others, but it finds in the end that the stone which it threw up into the air comes down upon its own head. On the other hand, we see—
II. GOOD BEGETS GOOD AFTER ITS KIND.
1. The man of peace is permitted to dwell in peace.
2. Frankness, sincerity, are met with reciprocated open-mindedness and honesty.
3. Honor rendered to worth and to our common manhood creates respect, and calls forth the best that is in men.
4. Generosity in judgment receives in return a kind and brotherly estimate of its own actions and character. While he that digs a pit for others fails into it himself, he that raises a ladder for others elevation himself rises upon its rungs.—C.
Verse 8 (latter part)
The broken hedge.
There are many fences which we have constructed, or which the Lord of our life has erected, and we discover that if we break them we shall find ourselves attacked and bitten by the serpent which is within or upon the other side.
I. THE HEDGE OF SOCIAL REQUIREMENTS, There are certain understood enactments of society which must be regarded by us. They may have no claim to be moral laws; they may not have any place in the statutes of the land; still they are obligatory upon us. If we are so self-willed or self-sufficient, if we are so ignorant or so careless, as to violate these, we must pay the appropriate penalty of general disregard. Even though we be free from all vice and all crime, we shall be numbered among transgressors of the unwritten law of society, and our position will be lowered, our influence will be lessened, our reputation will be reduced, our usefulness will be impaired.
II. THE HEDGE OF HUMAN LAW. Human law requires of us that we shall pay the debts we owe, that we shall make our contribution to the protection of the society of which we are members, that we shall respect the rights of our neighbors. Breaking this hedge, we pay the penalty which the law inflicts; this "serpent" may be only a small fine, or it may be loss of liberty or even life.
III. THE HEDGE OF DIVINE LIMITATION. God has set a limit to our faculties, and thus to our enjoyment, our activity, our achievement; and if we heedlessly or ambitiously pass this limit, we are bitten and we suffer. If we break the hedge of:
1. Physical appropriation, or exercise, we suffer in bodily sickness, in nervous prostration, in premature decline.
2. Mental activity. If we think, study, strive, labor on at our desk, beyond the limit of our powers, we pay the penalty in irritability, in softening of the brain, in insanity.
3. Spiritual faculty. If we attempt to enter regions that are beyond our God-given powers, we end either in a skepticism which robs us of our highest heritage, or in a mysticism which fascinates and misleads us.
IV. THE HEDGE OF CONSCIENCE. Conscience commands us, with imperative voice, to keep well within the line of purity, of sobriety, of truthfulness, of reverence. If we go beyond that line, we suffer. We suffer:
1. The condemnation of God.
2. The disapproval of the wise and good.
3. The reproach of our own soul.
4. The loss of self-respect and the consequent enfeeblement of our character; and of all losses this is, perhaps, the worst, for it is one of a series of downward steps at the foot of which is death.
1. Be right at heart with God; you will then have within you a force of spiritual rectitude which wilt keep you in the path of wisdom and virtue.
2. Be vigilant; ever watching character and conduct, so that you are not betrayed unawares into error and transgression.
3. Be docile; always ready to receive the counsel and heed the warning of true and faithful friends.
4. Seek daily the guidance and guardianship of God.—C.
Verses 9 (latter part), 10
Good workmanship-ourselves and our tools.
This much-debated passage may suggest to us some lessons which may not have been in the mind of the Preacher, but which are appropriate to our time and our circumstances. The question of how much work a man can do is one that depends on two things—on his own strength and skill, and on the quality of the tools he is using. A weak and untried man with poor tools will not do half as much as a strong experienced man with good ones in his hand.
I. THE FIELD OF WORK. This is very broad; it includes not only:
1. All manual labor, to which the passage more immediately applies; but:
2. All business transactions, all household activities, all matters of government in which men are often "the tools" with which work is done. And it includes that to which our attention may be especially directed:
3. All Christian work. This is a great field of its own, with a vast amount of work demanding to be done. Here is work
for it means nothing less than that change of condition which results from a change of heart and life. In view of this particular field we regard—
II. THE CONDITIONS OF GOOD WORKMANSHIP. And these are:
1. Good tools. Of these tools are:
(a) its integrity, not presenting or exaggerating one or two aspects only, but offering it in its fullness and symmetry;
(b) its purity, uncorrupted by the imaginations and accretions of our own mind;
(c) its adaptation to the special spiritual needs of those to whom we minister.
2. Good workmen. Those that have:
1. Seek to be supplied with the most perfect tools in Christian work; for not only will good tools do much more work than poor ones, but bad tools will result in mischief to the workman. "He that cleaveth … is endangered." Half-truths, or truth unbalanced by its complement, or a badly constructed organization, may do real and serious harm to those who preach the one or work through the other.
2. Put your whole strength—physical, mental, spiritual—into the work of the Lord. With the very best tools we can wield, we shall wish we had done more than we shall have accomplished, when our last blow has been struck for the Master and for mankind.—C.