Slothful In Work?

(Proverbs 18:9) He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

This verse reminds me of a book a read several times as a teenager. The book was about one man's experience as a prisoner of war during WWII. He wrote about the various ways the prisoners worked to resist their captors, escape if they could and keep their morale up during their long imprisonment.

Some of the prisoners worked to culture wood dry rot. Then they sneaked it up into the attic of the old fortress in which they were imprisoned and put it on the rafters there. They reasoned that the war might last a long long time. If it lasted long enough, the dry rot would destroy the rafters and cause the roof to collapse - having the same effect as a bomb.

Slothful work amounts to the same thing as destruction. If you don't produce for your employer you can cause him to go out of business. If your mechanic is slothful in working on your car he can cause your car to be destroyed or even cause you to wreck. If your contractor (or his employees) are slothful, your house might collapse.

What about a slothful pastor? Might people be spiritually harmed if I am slothful in my study and preaching of the word? If I don't do the hard work of 2Timothy 4:2? Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Don't be slothful in your work!