During our group Bible studies and discussion yesterday, we dedicated some time to critical and thought-provoking questions that have troubled many for a long time. A lot of my brethren asked very sensitive questions that most churches and believers usually avoid. Questions came from sex and intimacy to leadership and submission, Christian entrepreneurship, death and eternal life, among others. We did justice to most of them.
As we were doing exposition on some of the questions, referencing the law of first mention in Hermeneutics, Apologetics, and Eschatology, a gentleman argued that the Bible is quite contradictory. His question was :“Why does the Bible say if you sleep, you will be poor, but the same Bible says it is vain to go to work early and come home late because God gives His beloved sleep?”
Then came my turn to do my exegesis (scriptural interpretation of his question). I explained that Proverbs 20:13; 6:10-11; 13:4 are all warnings against laziness, not sleep itself. “In fact, the actual Hebrew idea behind ‘sleep’ in this context is not sleeping per se. It’s an allegory(a symbolic representation) of a lifestyle of excessive ease, procrastination, and avoidance of productive labour. In modern terms it simply means if all you do is stay in bed, avoid effort, and postpone your duties, poverty will catch up with you,” I said.
Additionally, I elaborated that Psalm 127:2 which was written by Solomon, is not against hard work. It is talking about anxious, self-dependent striving, working as though everything solely depends on you. It admonishes you to be hardworking and responsible but don’t be consumed by worry and endless striving. It says God’s beloved can sleep peacefully after hard work because they trust in Him.
“In other words, the above scriptures are not contradictory at all. They are talking about balance in life. The verses in proverbs tell you to get out of bed and do your work while the verse in Psalms tell you to go to bed and trust God after your hard work. Like I always put it,’Do your best and leave the rest to God’ Together they say : work hard enough that laziness does not ruin your future, but trust God enough that worry does not ruin your peace.” This is how I concluded the issue.
After my exposition, there was a standing ovation coupled with applause from my colleagues. But, in the midst of their cheers,I was having a very deep personal reflection about what I just shared with them. Then I realised that, for so many years, I had been a victim of burnout disguised as ambition all in the name of this ‘if you sleep, you will be poor’ syndrome. This was from eisegesis (the imposition of personal biases on scriptures).
I remembered how I used to go to work right from an all night service. At times, I could really feel the exhaustion but rest felt guilty. I believe I am not the only victim. Modern culture has mastered efficiency but is still learning sustainability. Motivational speakers tell us to sleep later, work while others rest, stay hungry, outwork everyone, grind now and enjoy later. Of, course, there are elements of truth in these speeches. There are seasons that demand extraordinary efforts.
However, sleep and rest are necessities. The wisdom is to work hard without worshipping work. ‘God will provide’ is not an excuse for doing nothing. Also, do not assume that everything depends on you so you have to overwork yourself to exhaustion. The key is balance. Work hard but also be intentional about resting when necessary.
The goal is not simply to reach the destination but to arrive there with enough strength to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Success is not only about what we achieve, but also about who we become along the way.
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