I. The Sluggard’s Behaviour

• The sluggard loves sleep excessively (26:14, 20:13, 6:6-11)
• The sluggard procrastinates (20:4)
• The sluggard seldom starts things, and seldom finishes (12:27, 19:24, 26:15)
• The sluggard makes excuses not to work (22:13, 26:16)
• The sluggard is perpetually disorganised (15:19)
• The sluggard is unreliable (10:26)
• The sluggard allows what he has to decay (Eccl 10:18)
• The sluggard deceives himself through the ‘smallness of his surrenders’ (6:9-11)
• The sluggard squanders time, money, resources and opportunities (18:9)

II. The Sluggard’s Heart

• Greed: for ease (25:16)
• Faithless: works only for immediate reward (20:4)
• Proud: wants shortcuts to what others labour for (13:4)
• Rebellious: kicks against God’s order of food for work (21:25; 2 Thes 3:10)
• The lazy man forgets/disregards the fact that all he has and is belongs to God and is a stewardship (Matthew 25:26)

III. The Sluggard’s End

• Hunger (19:15)
• Perpetual discontent (21:25)
• Unnecessary submission to others (12:24)
• Gradual and sudden poverty (6:9-11)

IV. The Sluggard’s Remedy

• Believe the end of the sluggard (24:30-34), and the reward of diligence (13:4; 22:29)
• Embrace the laws of God’s world (Gen 3:19)
• Submit to the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), and yield your life and body to God (Rom 12:1)
• Plan and organise your life (21:4)
• Practise self-discipline, do the hardest things before the easier, more pleasant tasks (21:17)
• Welcome responsibility (25:13)