Day 312 - The Dangers of Idleness

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 16-17 and Ps. 119:145-176

In Ezekiel 16 we see a description of the sins of Sodom. This really jumped out to me in my reading this morning:

"Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." (Ezk. 16:49)

So here we see three specific issues that caused Sodom's fall:

• Pride
• Excessive bread/prosperity
• Idleness 
• Lack of care for the poor/ lack of mission to needy

In Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen White writes the following:

"Idleness and riches make the heart hard that has never been oppressed by want or burdened by sorrow. The love of pleasure was fostered by wealth and leisure, and the people gave themselves up to sensual indulgence. “Behold,” says the prophet, “this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” Ezekiel 16:49, 50. There is nothing more desired among men than riches and leisure, and yet these gave birth to the sins that brought destruction upon the cities of the plain. Their useless, idle life made them a prey to Satan’s temptations, and they defaced the image of God, and became satanic rather than divine. Idleness is the greatest curse that can fall upon man, for vice and crime follow in its train. It enfeebles the mind, perverts the understanding, and debases the soul. Satan lies in ambush, ready to destroy those who are unguarded, whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate himself under some attractive disguise. He is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours."  (PP, p. 156)

Being rich is not the sin. The danger is how we use those riches! Are they used for our glory or God's glory. Having free time is not a sin, but how do we spend our time? On selfish indulgence, in wasteful pursuits, or for the sake of advancing God's mission. Reading this today really impresses me afresh with the solemn responsibility to use our moments wisely and to inspire the young people of today to find a mission and passion to throw their energy into. It is because they have so much idle time that so much sin and vice is practiced.

Lord help us not to waste our moments, but to turn our idle time into productive time for the poor and needy.

Tomorrow's Reading: Ezek. 18-19 and 1 Peter 1