Meet my lazy kitty, Duchess…don’t let her fool you, she is the originator of initiated antics!
Did you know that idleness is the ground in which every form of evil takes root!
My Dad used to say, “Idleness is the devils workshop!”
Recently, talking to a young mom of three princesses about laziness, I realized that the hour of idleness is the hour of temptation. We give it an acceptable name such as, procrastination, deferment, apathy or just stalling, but it is clearly a form of laziness or the absence of initiative.
Initiative is recognizing and doing what needs to be done before I am asked to do it. It is expressed in our thoughts, words and deeds. As a little princess in my father’s house, I was notorious for taking initiative where I was not called to do so! It took time for me to understand that I needed to use the energy of God (His grace!) to achieve the will of God, as the Spirit of God directed. Not me, running ahead, doing my thing!
“Satan is much more earnest than we are…he buys up the opportunity, while we are idly wondering how much it will cost.” Amy Charmichael “Who can find a virtuous woman? …She looks well into the ways of her household and eats not the bread of idleness.” (Proverbs 31: 10, 27) She is a “busy bee” with a lot of targeted initiative for the benefit of others.
As moms with little prince and princesses watching and learning from us, we have a responsibility to demonstrate initiative in our thoughts, words and actions. They see how we manage our time and deal with the idleness in our lives. Our phones, social media, etc. reveal the truth.
The power for good and evil is in our thoughts and words. “For as she(he) thinks in her heart, so is she (he)”. (Proverbs 23:7) Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21)
“With our thoughts and words, we can do the will of God or the work of Satan…” (Matt. 12: 37)
Let’s aggressively…with energetic initiative…face this week with determination to
“bring into captivity every thought and word
to the obedience of Christ.”
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
