Proverbs 19:24 “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, but will not even bring it back to his mouth.”

Have you ever see a truly, lazy person?   I remember as a young boy going to a play that my dad was in.  It was entitled “Too Tired To Move.”  The whole play was set with the characters lying around the stage talking but never moving.  They all had the same excuse.  They were all just too tired to move.

I am thankful my dad taught me a strong work ethic.  I was mowing yards and holding down part time jobs at a young age.  In fact, my dad even built my brother and I a small trailer to pull behind our Cub Cadet mower to haul our push mower and gas can.  We had a lawn care business way before that was popular.  I bought my first car from my earnings.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teach your children this proverb.  Laziness will never allow them to be all the Lord wants them to be.  Our children need to learn to be productive citizens.  Boys need to learn how to provide for their families.  Girls need to learn how to be motivated to start their own career or care for their families.  Give your children chores to do to learn how to work.

Our society today tells us to protect our children’s feelings.  I agree.  We should never intentionally try to hurt our children emotionally.  But we have gone so far in this direction that we have not challenged our children either.  Encourage your children to excel.  Encourage your children to do their very best.  That is our job – to prepare them to be ready to leave our nest.

Parents, listen to me!  Don’t keep your children as children.  Don’t be guilty of not allowing them to fail.  Failure can teach our children so much.  Help them learn from these failures and apply God’s Word to each situation.  The last thing you want is for your child to feel entitled and dependent on you forever.  The best thing we can do for our children is to teach them to depend solely on the Lord, Who is the provider of all things.