QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “Imagine a society where no one had to work. Robots and artificial intelligence performed all essential jobs while advanced technologies provided unlimited clean energy, food, and consumer goods. Human beings were free to pursue their passions and spend time with loved ones instead of working. What would life look like in this futuristic work-free world? [...] For the first time in history, our jobs wouldn’t dictate how we spend our days.” ~Roy Lam, Data Scientist and Psychometrician, “What Life Would Look Like if Humans Didn’t Have to Work Anymore”   “The image of God was never meant to yawn through life. Yet those who are paying attention will also see something more in this tragi-comic sloth: themselves. We all have an inner sluggard, counseling us to sleep when we should rise, rest when we should work, eat when we should move.” ~Scott Hubbard, pastor in Minneapolis, “The Sluggard in Me: Four Lies that Lead to Laziness”   “The wise man knows that the sluggard is no freak, but, as often as not, an ordinary man who has made too many excuses, too many refusals, and too many postponements. It has all been as imperceptible, and as pleasant, as falling asleep.” ~Derek Kidner, Bible Commentator and Old Testament Scholar, Proverbs   “In short, work – and lots of it – is an indispensable component in a meaningful human life. It is a supreme gift from God and one of the main things that gives our lives purpose. But it must play its proper role, subservient to God. It must regularly give way not just to work stoppage for bodily repair but also in joyful reception of the world and of ordinary life…. When we think, ‘I hate work!’ we should remember that, despite the fact that work can be a particularly potent reminder (and even amplifier) of the curse of sin on all things, it is not itself a curse. We were built for it and freed by it. But when we feel that our lives are completely absorbed by work, remember that we must honor work’s limits. There is no better starting point for a meaningful work life than a firm grasp of this balanced work and rest theology.” ~Tim Keller (1950-2023), pastor in New York, Every Good Endeavor SERMON PASSAGE Proverbs 6:6-11, 12:11, 21:5, 25-26 (ESV) Proverbs 6 6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;   consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief,   officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer   and gathers her food in harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?    When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber,    a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,    and want like an armed man.   Proverbs 12 11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,    but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.   Proverbs 21 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,   but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty… 25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,    for his hands refuse to labor. 26 All day long he craves and craves,    but the righteous gives and does not hold back.   Exodus 20 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Ephesians 2 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.