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TAKING INITIATIVE

Proverbs 6:9-11
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
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A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—

and poverty will come on you like a thief


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and scarcity like an armed man.

Welcome to our Wise Living Series. We’re discovering biblical principles to equip us for life –
to live our lives to the fullest, to live well. Wise living is understanding and patterning our
lives according to the structure and order that God built into the world. A truly wise person
lives according to God’s plan.

We first look into what is required to live wisely.

We enter the road leading to wisdom through the fear of God defined as: Not being
frightened, or scared of God (although we should).

It is deep and healthy respect for God, and His authority, which, when make us
personally loathe sin and love righteousness.

In our second message we pointed to the need of clearly defined plans. Wise people have a
sense of what God wants and plan their lives to fulfill those plans. Wise people have a
sense of their God-given destinations and have made plans at arriving there.

Today, let us look at another aspect of wise living – taking initiative. Someone said there are
three types of people in the world:

 those who do not know what is happening;


 those who watch what is happening; and
 those who make things happen. Wise people make things happen.

Wise people take initiative. They see a problem and act on it. They don’t just sit passively
and wait for opportunities to come. They prayerfully take actions. When faced with a
problem, or a need, the wise person goes to God, seeks for wisdom, and then takes a piece
of paper, and begin to consider her/his options.

What should I do Lord? What do you want me to do? And then take action.

It makes sense isn’t it? If you have a problem, you take action. What else is there to do?

Unfortunately, not many people, followers of Christ, included, do it. This perverted human
tendency causes the writer of Proverbs to warn us of laziness. Instead of taking action, the
lazy person does nothing. Instead he or she sits passively, watching, waiting for something
to happen.

The Book of Proverbs call people who live by this philosophy as sluggards. (Mga batugan;
Tamad). A slug is a slimy snail like creature that has no shell. It walks so slowly and without
direction. Sluggards are lazy:

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“So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of
bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy – do you
know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your
permanent houseguest!” Proverbs 6:9-11 (The Message)

Dirt-poor life! Poverty your permanent houseguest! While the OT may have viewed this
warning as referring primarily to material poverty, we are safe to apply this to every area of
our lives: mental poverty; physical; social; emotional; spiritual; potential resulting in unfulfilled
lives and unrealized potential.

Laziness causes a lot of damage in people. Add hunger and loss of human potential to
poverty. One proverbs that drives this point with humor is Proverbs 19:24 24:

A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;


he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

“ Some people are so lazy that they won’t even lift a finger to feed themselves.” (NLT)

This is a humorous exaggeration meant to make us feel the pain as we laugh, because we
know this is so true with our lives. The food is right there in front of him, but the slug has
neither the energy or the motivation to do it.

Another passage warning about the destructive effects of laziness is Proverbs 26:14:

“Like a door turning back and forth on its hinges, the lazy person turns over and over in bed.”
(NCV)

The slug turns over and over, stuck up in bed – going nowhere. Wasting his life.

But why would people not take action? The lazy person says why not! Why take action when
you can blame someone for your problems. It is much easier to sit and complain about the
unfairness of live or the overwhelming frustrations of the modern world. Why take initiative in
solving your problems when we have the fashionable option of blaming our parents, our
spouse, our friends, our employer, our teachers, our church leaders, our government or our
God for our problems.

Another alternative to taking initiative is to settle into this fatalistic dream of some better
future that will eventually “just happen” to us. Underlying many missed opportunities to take
action is an unspoken but deeply held belief that goes something like this: “Somehow,
someday, Lord willing, my life will improve. Somehow, someday day what I want will come to
pass. Someday, somehow I’ll drift into more satisfying circumstances. Dreaming for a better
day without initiating action for a better day is nothing but a dream. This is akin to what
James said as “faith without works.” It is dead!

As we pointed out this week, this is not the way God set life. The natural course of life is not
up, but down. Those who choose to sit back and go with the flow normally end up going
downhill. If we want God’s best, it will require an uphill climb. Without doubt that uphill walk is
going to require action and initiative, and nobody who has embraced the “somehow, some
day” philosophy will ever reach God’s best for their lives.

Taking initiative faces another challenge in our tendency to postpone action for a latter time
or procrastination. Every time a person responds to a pressing responsibility with a careless,
“I’ll do it later” he or she is acting in a lazy way.

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We are so acculturated to this mindset that we need a radical change. We need to be
delivered from this destructive habit.

Singapore, Johor, Kuching start working on drainages after the first flood. We all see the folly
of such a practice, but how true also that we all tend to procrastinate.

A final challenge to taking action is making excuses. The lazy person always finds a reason
to do nothing. I love bus rides, especially when I am alone. It gives me a good 45 minutes of
reflection. I get almost an hour of focused thinking. I look at a situation, think through it, pray
about it, think of options, and then plan a way of doing it.

The sluggard quoted in Proverbs 22:13 comes up with a great reason for not going to
work. Proverbs 22: 13 The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, “If I go outside, I might
meet a lion in the street and be killed!” “There is a lion outside!” To make sure no one
questions her/his admirable reason for remaining inside, he says, “I might get murdered in
the streets!”

What an imagination! And what if there is a lion on the streets? The man should join the lion
hunt! Only a sluggard would sit around for the rest of his or her life because there are
dangerous obstacles in his or her way. The truth is there will always be “lions in the street.
There will always be frightening responsibilities. There will always be overwhelming
challenges. There will always be heart breaking disappointments. But only the sluggard will
make excuse after excuse in the face of life’s demands.

Think about your own life. Do you make excuses for lack of performance, lack of diligence,
lack of discipline, lack of good thing? Look at the fruit of your life now. Are the fruits giving
you joy or do they make you sigh in sorrow?

But you might say, not me, never. I am busy as ever. I am not guilty of slothfulness. I am a
go person. I don’t ever walk. I ran. This is so true of us in Hong Kong. We are known as the
city of “running people.” Nobody walks here. Everyone is on the run.

Several years ago I read a book written by Bill Hybels where he warns that it is possible for
busy people to suffer from a hidden disease of selective sluggardliness – a disease
characterized by carefully constructed compartments where slothfulness reigns. Though
little, if left unattended will ultimately bring pain, and heartache, even ruin in our lives.

It’s those who spend more money than they have and say tomorrow they’ll go on budget –
but tomorrow never comes.

It’s men and women who fill their time with people but never tend the soil of their own interior
lives. They never look deeply at the emotional and psychological realities that drive their
behavior, affect their goals and shape their relationships.

The father who succeeds at work; has a lot of friends, but fails miserably to respond to the
emotional needs of his wife and children.

It’s the student who does so well in school but fails to relate well with his family.

One reason why selective laziness is so deadly is that if other areas of our lives look good
enough we can convince ourselves that we could be excuse from failing to take initiative in
some areas of our lives. I remember talking a young father who had three kids who love to
attend Kids Church. Their mom works on Sunday and so the father who works on a night

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shift has to bring the kids to church for them to come. Sometimes the father feels tired and
would rather sleep on Sunday afternoon. The kids end up unhappy. One day I spoke with the
father and encourage him to bring his kids to church. He told me he was tired. But I would
not accept that excuse.

He has brought more people to Christ on a one on one basis than anyone I know. He was
the most diligent evangelist I know. He would walk visit people for hours to share with them.
He was industrious and provided well for his family. He was a great spiritual man. I have
never seen an elderly man who loved reading the Bible; the most prayerful man I’ve seen in
my life. But my dad had a weakness. He easily lost his temper. And that temper hurt the
most people that he loves. Even if we are good at 9 out of 10, that one area of laziness
could be devastating.

Those of you with kids listen to me. There is a man of God in the Bible. His name is Eli, a
well respected, successful priest. He did well in everything except that one area of selective
sluggardliness – he would not discipline his sons. He had two boys who were little rascals,
and though he indented to train them in the ways of godliness and integrity, it proved to be a
more daunting challenge that he had anticipated. So he gave up. In time the little rascals,
became big rascals. The trouble they eventually caused led to Eli’s downfall.

Let us now look at Proverbs 6:6-11 and see what we could learn from the ants.

“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even
though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all
summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When
will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a
little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will
attack you like an armed robber.” (NLT)

First, the ant teaches us about the importance of knowing what you want. Do you know what
you want? The ant does. It wants food. It dreams of food. It breathes food. People who do
not know what they want are great disadvantaged in life. Napoleon Hill, known inspirational
author, says “All great achievements starts with great desire.” I believe this is one reason
why Jesus wants us to pray. You express what you want to God in prayer.

Secondly, ants teach about pushing ourselves to get the job done. Ants do not have anyone
over them telling them what to do. They just do what they need to do. This is called self-
motivation. The Follower of Christ however does not lack any reason to act. We live and act
to glorify God. We get the job done to give glory to God.

Finally, ants teach us about thinking ahead. It comes up with a plan and decides what needs
to be done and when. It knows that if it wants provisions through the winter it will have to
work hard during the summer. Once the ant gets its plan and timetable worked out it
motivates itself into action. The ant does not procrastinate. It does not make excuses. It says
in its little voice, “Let’s get going. Let’s get to work. Let’s do it now.”

Let us look at five areas of our lives where we need to apply initiative and diligence.

First, we need to take initiative in Building Relationships. Contrary to the world’s value, the
Bible says that the greatest legacy we can leave is a legacy of love. 1 Corinthians 13:13:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” The
greatest legacy I can leave mankind is a legacy of love – those thoughts and actions that
flow from a heart of love.

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It is within the context of family that loving actions and thoughts are most appreciated and
necessary – and most difficult to maintain. We all have good intentions, but in the rough and
hard tumble of life we tend to hurt and bruise each other. The little wounds to our ego, those
hurting words of rejection and condemnation, they all make us want to withdraw.

Keeping peace is difficult because we know it takes time and effort. How easy it would be if
all we need is one effort. But we all know that real peace usually requires a lot of concerted
effort. We’re already too busy. We just don’t have time for another one.

So we avoid making the phone call. We refrain from reaching out to that one person. We
withdraw. We give up. God does not give us permission to give up that easily on relationship.
We are called to build up, not tear down or burn relationships.

Romans 12:18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. (NLT)

“As much as possible” implies a tenacity to do all you can even when faced with seemingly
insurmountable obstacles. It instructs us to hold on to the last shred of hope and to move on
with the last shred of hope.

“As far as it depends on you” tells me that I have no control over the other person’s attitude
or action or response to our peace initiative. But I am responsible to do all I can to reach out,
to take the initiative, to exhaust all efforts to bring healing and reconciliation.

Recently, Emma and I watched a movie about a man who discovered he only had a few
months to live. He lives alone. He’s divorced from the woman he loves and his son who
really hates him. That summer, he decided to build a house for his son. In one of the scenes,
the former wife asked him, if he still loves her. He said, “I have loved no one else but you.”
Can you imagine the pain of loving someone but could not be with that person.

This is so true with relationship. I read somewhere that most of those who separated from
their spouses will continue to bear that pain all throughout their lives. They develop a gaping
hole in them.

The second area where taking initiative is really needed is hard work. God expects us to
work hard. It reflects his character as a hard working God. May I take this time to speak to
our younger family members, those who are still in school. Working hard and giving your
best in preparing yourself for the future is your divine calling. It is your worship to
God. Proverbs 12:24 Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a
slave. Proverbs 14:23Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty!

“Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord
rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23 (NLT)

Life is not supposed to be easy. Hard work is necessary. Change the way you work.

Thirdly, we also need to take initiative in keeping ourselves healthy. 1 Corinthians 6:19-
20 states “Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you
and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high
price. So you must honor God with your body.”

We have been bought by the blood of Christ.

What is God saying to you about your body? Your health?

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Fourth, we need to take initiative in sound handling of Money Matters. God has given us
ample instruction about the right use of money. He expects faithfulness in handling money
whether we have a little of it, or when we have much of it.

“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat
even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are
untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And
if you are not faithful with other people’s money, why should you be trusted with money of
your own?” Luke 16:10-12 (NLT)

“Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which
will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need
for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good
works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others
whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good
foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NLT)

Finally, we must be the most diligent in taking initiative to keep a vital spiritual life.

As a pastor for many years I have observed a phenomenon that I consider to be the height
of all spiritual contradictions. I have seen people who are so diligent in work, with their
health, in providing for their family who do nothing to keep themselves spiritually healthy.
They are rusting spiritually. They have lost their spiritual edge.

The writer of Hebrews points this out. In biting sarcasm, the author reprimands believers
who have failed to grow from being spiritual babies to spiritually mature people capable of
teaching. He encourages us to do all we can to grow, to work hard in developing healthy and
productive spiritual lives.

“For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you
have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians, as you still do. Our great desire
is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that
what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent.
Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises
because of their faith and patience.” Hebrews 6:10-12 (NLT)

The goal for every Follower of Christ is to become “Rich towards God.” Jesus in the Parable
of the Rich Fool warns against failing to become rich towards God. So what does it mean to
be rich towards God? First, I believe to be rich towards God refers to a vibrant, living,
personal, deep, and satisfying relationship with Jesus. It must also include being productive
in life. Having been entrusted with resources by God, we invest these and produce fruits for
God. Spiritual riches could also include our personal development. Someone said, “what we
have in God’s gift to us, what we become is our gift to God.”

How do you feel about this message today? Do you sense the Holy Spirit telling you
something about an area of your life – relationships, work, health, money or your spiritual
life? Remember that God loves you and when He tells you something that needs to be
changed, He does it because He loves you. Do you feel you’re rusting spiritually? Then
come to God today and rededicate your life to the Lord.

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