What is slothfulness? It is to procrastinate, to drag on for as long as possible, and to take time in doing something. Perhaps a work can be finished in one day, yet the person drags it out for ten days. Or it can be finished in a month, yet the person drags it out for three months. He takes his time to finish the work. This is slothfulness. In some instances the word is translated "idle" (Matt. 20:3, 6). An idle person is one who mills around aimlessly. He is tossed between acting and not acting, and his mind is never set on what should be done. In Philippians 3:1, it is translated "irksome." Paul said, "To write the same things to you, for me it is not irksome, but for you it is safe." As soon as you put something on the shoulders of some brothers and sisters, they are reluctant to take it up. It is irksome to them. They sigh and grumble. It seems as if they are being asked to take up an impossible task and that a very heavy burden has been placed upon them. But this is not the way Paul acted. He was in prison when he wrote his Epistles. It would indeed be a challenge for anyone to write in a situation as dire as his. Yet in writing to the Philippians, Paul exhorted them to rejoice. "Rejoice in the Lord always" (4:4). As far as his circumstances went, he was in grave hardship. Yet he said, "To write the same things to you, for me it is not irksome." He was not slothful. He did not consider it irksome; rather, he considered it a joyous thing. He did not know the meaning of laziness. In him we find a zeal which is prominent among all servants of God. They are not slothful and do not consider it irksome to take challenges upon themselves.

Many brothers and sisters have become useless in God's service because they are afraid to take on any responsibility. They are irked by everything. They constantly hope for less work. They would rather choose less responsibility than more responsibility, and they would be happy to settle for no responsibility at all. They do not have a diligent character. If we are lazy, we are disqualified not only from God's service, but from man's service as well. Many brothers and sisters cannot be servants of the Lord because they are lazy. Some so-called servants of God sit high on a pedestal. It seems as if no one has control over them; no brother or sister can touch them, and no one can say anything to them. They regard themselves as servants of God alone. If their master was changed for a brief moment, they would be shown to be total failures. No human master would allow them to be as sloppy as they are. Our disposition and walk must be so exercised that we would never shrink back from troubles, but would instead prefer service and sacrifice for God's people, both materially and physically. We should prefer to labor and work with our own hands. If this is not our way, we are not qualified to be called God's servants! Paul said, "You yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my needs and to those who are with me" (Acts 20:34). He had two good hands; they were not slothful at all. They worked during the day and during the night. Such a person is truly a servant of God.