Proverbs 6 has some interesting things to say about sleep! Look at verses 4 and 10-11:
4 Give not [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids;
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down and sleep—11 So will your poverty come like a robber or one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless].
Verses 10-11 are speaking about being lazy! Notice that in the Amplified Bible, verse 4 says not to allow yourself "unnecessary" sleep! That means more than your body requires. I want to share some from today's "Sparkling Gems" by Rick Renner. This is referring to the parable of the talents, and specifically to the wicked servant who had simply buried his master's money instead of using ingenuity and diligence to increase it!
But when the master came to the third servant and saw that he had done nothing with the money given to him, he told the servant, "...Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury" (vv. 26,27).
It is obvious that this third servant was not ignorant of the master's expectation. He knew that the master expected increase from him. In fact, he told them, "Thou knewest." This means the third servant couldn't pretend to be ignorant. He knew that the master expected him to do something significant with what had been entrusted to him.
This master would accept no excuses for a lack of increase. It didn't matter how difficult the situation, how many odds were against his servants, or how impossible it seemed, the master still expected increase. His servants understood that this was his expectation. Thus, the servant who did nothing with his talent found himself in a horrible predicament.
His master called him, "Thou wicked and slothful servant" (Matthew 25:26). As if this isn't bad enough, in Matthew 25:30 his master called him "the unprofitable servant." Before we go any further, let's stop to examine these words, for they vividly express Jesus' personal sentiment toward people who possess great potential but never develop it due to laziness.
Let's look first at Matthew 25:26, where Jesus calls the non-productive servant "thou wicked and slothful servant." The words "wicked and slothful" are taken from the single Greek word okneros. This word means lazy or idle. It carries the idea of a person who has a do-nothing, lethargic, lackadaisical, apathetic, indifferent, lukewarm attitude toward life.
This is a strong word, chosen by the Holy Spirit to tell us how strongly Jesus feels about those who are apathetic and lethargic about their spiritual lives and life assignments. Jesus has no taste for lackadaisical people. People who are lukewarm about their God-given abilities or who are indifferent about their assignments leave a sickening taste in the Lord's mouth. He loves the person, but He strongly dislikes the lazy attitudes that keep them from reaching their maximum potential.
In Matthew 25:30, Jesus continues by calling this non-productive servant "the unprofitable servant." The word "unprofitable" is from the Greek word achreios, which literally means useless. A literal translation in today's vernacular would be the good-for-nothing servant.
This word describes a person whose existence in life is absolutely pointless. He is an aimless, purposeless person who contributes nothing to life. This person's value has never been realized because he does nothing but take up space on the face of the planet. But like everyone else, this person had a choice. He could have become something significant if he had used what was entrusted to him and had done what God asked him to do.
The two servants who had produced for their master were given even more responsibility and opportunity for advancement! Which "servant" will YOU be for the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible? Your decision will affect your entire life here on earth! Make a wise choice! AND, lest you think NECESSARY sleep is unimportant, Psalm 127:2 says give THIS promise (to the diligent!):
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil — for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep. AMP
Shalom in Him!
