Be Ye Not Slothful

~ Be Ye Not Slothful ~

Heb. 6:12 KJV

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

 

For the first time in my life, I realized there is a difference between laziness and slothfulness. Because Hebrews 6:12 speaks of slothfulness, I turned there first to begin my study as I sought to discover what the word "slothful" really meant. It says, "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

 

To my utter amazement, I discovered that "slothful" doesn't have anything to do with laziness! It comes from the Greek word nothros and describes something that is dull, monotonous, or unexciting; something that is slow and sluggish; or something that has lost its speed or momentum. 

 

 

This "something" is still moving, but it isn't moving with the same velocity and aggressiveness it once had. It has lost the drive, thrust, impetus, pace, and speed it once possessed. This word therefore presents the idea of someone who was once zealous about something but whose zeal has now dissipated, replaced instead by neutrality.

 

Phil. 3:10 AMP

"For my determined purpose is; that I may know Him; that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection; which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even to His death,"

 

 

Paul said his determined purpose was to know God. As pray-ers, we must have the same determination. It is all too easy to get involved in different projects, praying about this and praying about that and pretty soon we find ourselves doing all the talking and hearing less and less from God. We must take time to know God, to listen to what He is saying.

 

Jesus said that many would come in His name but that He will say, "Depart from Me for I know you not."

 

God knows our hearts and not just our actions.

 

The Greek word nothros could be typified by a candle that no longer burns brightly as it once did; now its flame has dwindled to a mere flicker of its original intensity. The candle still gives light, but not the way it once did. Thus, the word nothros doesn't present the picture of laziness; rather, it speaks of someone who has lost his zeal or his intense conviction about a matter that once was of great importance to him. It denotes a person who has become disinterested and whose zeal has been replaced with a middle-of-the-road, take-it-or-leave-it mentality.

 

Because of this word nothros, Hebrews 6:12 could be interpreted this way: "Quit being slothful - quit acting like someone who has lost his enthusiasm and excitement and has now sunk into a state of being slow, boring, monotonous, sluggish, dull, and uninterested"

 

If you are serious about serving and pleasing God, you must view the loss of your passion, momentum, and desire as totally unacceptable. If slothfulness has slowly wormed its way into your life, this spiritual problem can be corrected. You can get back on track again! By repenting and deciding to turn from slothfulness and neutrality, you can remove this hindrance from your life. So if you've lost your momentum in running your spiritual race, don't stay in neutral! If you continue in that sorry state, it will only be a matter of time before you look back and realize how much ground you've lost.

 

Don't let another day go by without repenting of your slothfulness and stirring up your inner desire to fulfill all God has called you to do. Shift back into high gear, and go after God's best for all you're worth. The first step is to check our heart and repent if we see this slothfulness in us. We need to get back to the basics of knowing Him. Don't take on any prayer projects until you take time to pray about knowing Him. Make certain He is your first love and that everything you do flows out of that relationship.