24 Bible verses to deal a blow against laziness

Bible verses about laziness, with help to fight it

Most of us can identify with at least a little bit of laziness in ourselves. There is nothing wrong with taking some “down time,” relaxing after a long day, using the time to recharge and reflect on the day. But when we know that we should be someplace else, doing something, maybe we get a prompting from the Spirit to carry out a task, but we remain where we are in idleness or indifference and ignore the urges, that is when we need the exhortation, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise …”

There might be various reasons for our inactivity and we might have different incapabilities that limit our ability to go to action. But God knows how much we can bear. He will not give us a task we cannot handle. There is a difference between understanding our own limits and underestimating what God can do through us – if we are willing!

Commit some of these Bible verses about laziness to memory so that the next time you are tempted to remain idle on the couch when you know that there could be a better use of your time – when you are wrestling between “comfort for your flesh” or “stepping out of your comfort zone” – you can use these verses as a weapon against laziness – a sin that has stolen enough precious time from people throughout the ages!

Motivation to go to action when you don’t feel like it

Romans 6:11-14

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

Reckoning ourselves dead to sin is a decision we make – our bodies will no longer be used to serve sin! We remind ourselves of this decision when we are tempted. This decision has nothing to do with our feelings!

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Hebrews 3:15

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

Also read: How can I overcome sin if I don’t feel like it?

Motivation to put in the best effort in all that you do

Colossians 3:23-24

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”

Luke 16:10

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”

Hebrews 6:11-12

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Philippians 2:12-13

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Reminder of why God has given us a body

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Hebrews 10:5-7

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me …
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come –
In the volume of the book it is written of Me –
To do Your will, O God.’”

This was Jesus’ attitude and His work when He was on earth. We have also received a body from God, and by carrying out His will on earth, we are proving that God’s will is good and acceptable and perfect, so that in the ages to come, it is incontestable.

Also read: Do you know why God gave you a body? and Why did God create me?

What the Bible says about laziness

Proverbs 6:6-11

“Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep –
So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.”

Jeremiah 48:10

“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord lazily. And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.” [Norwegian translation]

On the battlefield, if a soldier for one reason or another fails to use his sword against the enemy, the enemy will sooner or later defeat him. As warriors of God, we are also called to battle – against sin in the flesh. If we are unwilling to suffer – to deny our lusts the nourishment they demand – we succumb to temptation and therefore give in to the desires of the flesh.

Also read: How should we fight against sin in the flesh?

Proverbs 10:4-5

“He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a wise son;
He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.”

Proverbs 14:23

“In all labor there is profit,
But idle chatter leads only to poverty.”

Proverbs 19:15

“Laziness casts one into a deep sleep,
And an idle person will suffer hunger.”

Proverbs 18:9

“He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.”

1 Timothy 5:8

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Reminder that our time is short

James 4:14

“… whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

John 9:4

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”

2 Corinthians 6:2

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Ephesians 5:15-16

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Romans 13:11-14

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”