Proverbs 26:15 - Meaning and Application

The sluggard has now, after much effort, gotten out of bed, but he may as well have stayed there. He does so little with his work that nothing comes of it.

Notice, first, the excuse he gives for his laziness. He hides his hand in his bosom because he feels the cold, keeping it close to the warmth of his bed and his own body. Or he acts as if he is lame, like some beggars who make a living by pretending to be helpless. He may want people to think his hand is blistered from hard work yesterday. More broadly, this shows his dislike of work. He has tried labor, does not like it, and so he clings to comfort and thinks of no one else. It is common for people who refuse duty to claim they cannot do it. “I cannot dig” (Luke 16:3).

Second, notice the harm his laziness brings on him. He is the one who loses by it, because he starves himself. It is as if he finds it too much trouble to lift his hand to his mouth and feed himself. That is an expressive overstatement, meant to show how serious his sin is. He cannot bear even the smallest effort, not even for his own good, and in that way his sin becomes his punishment. The same is true in religion. Those who are lazy in spiritual matters will not take the trouble to feed their souls with the word of God, the bread of life, or to seek promised blessings by prayer, even though they could receive them that way.