CHOOSING DILIGENT APPLICATION OVER LAZY RESIGNATION!
“Work hard, and you will be a leader; be lazy, and you will end up a slave.” – Proverbs 12:24 Contemporary English Version.
Author and speaker Earl Nightingale, shares a story about a preacher who walks down a path and sees a beautiful farm. At the end of the row, he meets the farmer, covered in dirt and calluses on his hands, but the farm is flawless—perfect rows, flourishing crops, and flower boxes that look like a Norman Rockwell painting. The preacher says, “God has truly blessed you with this incredible farm.” The farmer replies, “Yes, He has, and every morning I thank Him for His blessings. But preacher, you should have seen this farm when God had it all to Himself.”
This story reminds us that while God blesses us, it’s our actions that bring His blessings to life. Faith without corresponding action is like a field left unattended with enormous potential, but unfulfilled. God`s Word in James 2:17 NIV says it perfectly, “Faith without works is dead.”
DILIGENCE IS THE OTHER HALF OF FAITH
Consider the father of faith, Abraham, after God called him [see Genesis 12:1-2 Amplified Bible]. Abraham didn’t sit under a palm tree waiting for wealth, he started rearing livestock. His faith and his effort worked together to unleash God’s blessing.
LAZINESS: THE SILENT KILLER AND ROBBER OF DESTINIES
Author and speaker Tony Robbins, rightly warned: “Laziness isn’t just a habit, it’s a disease, and like any other disease, if left untreated, it will eventually destroy you.”
Here is something I learned recently from Tony Robbins on the seven costs of laziness, which is eye-opening and worth sharing! He exposes the hidden costs of laziness, revealing how it’s sabotaging dreams and keeping people stuck in a cycle of unfulfilled potential. Using the powerful acronym CMDPLOT (that I created for easy retention), I will unveil the true damage laziness is doing to your future. Here is the simple acronym, CMDPLOT:
Character Erosion: Every time you choose laziness over action, you`re not just losing time, you`re losing something more valuable – a piece of your character. Character isn’t built in big moments; it is built in all those small moments when you choose action over laziness.
Momentum Murder: Laziness doesn’t just stop your progress; it kills your momentum. It’s much harder to build momentum than it is to maintain it because laziness on a momentum scale of zero to ten takes you back to zero every single time.
Dream Deflation: Dreams don`t die dramatically; they die gradually. They die every time you choose laziness over action, tomorrow instead of now, someday instead of today. Dreams don`t die from failure, they die from inaction.
Potential Paralysis: Potential experience paralysis every time you choose laziness over action because potential isn’t just unused, it’s unknown. You can never discover what you are truly capable of while you`re being lazy.
Legacy Limitation: After writing my first two books while in medical school, I never authored another book for twenty years because of laziness. When I decided to choose action over laziness, God enabled me to write nine new books in less than seventeen months! Your laziness doesn’t just affect you; it affects your legacy. It affects everyone who could have been inspired and empowered by your example, helped by your work, and transformed by your contribution. Anytime you choose laziness, you are not just diminishing your life, you`re diminishing your legacy.
Opportunity Blindness: Opportunity doesn’t just appear to anyone; it reveals itself only to those in motion. When you`re lazy, your future becomes hazy, and you become blind to opportunities.
Time Erosion: Time isn`t neutral like many people think. When you`re lazy, time becomes your enemy. It doesn’t pause, wait, or even care about your excuses for every minute you spend in laziness is not working for you but against you.
The good news, friend, is that you can avoid these costs by choosing action over laziness as you position yourself in faith, coupled by your corresponding action to receive the showers of blessing that are ordained by God to make you a blessing [a source of great good to others].
