Tuesday; October 14
Have you ever heard the
phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”?
I think a lot of us grew up with this adage and were taught the value of
work and community involvement. If we
were doing something productive, we would get into less trouble. Interestingly, this wasn’t something that just
came from the previous generation, it has its roots in a thought process years
ago. In fact, when the early Christian
writers considered how to help widows of their day, they cautioned against just
letting them grow old and bored. The
Apostle Paul warned, “At the same time they also learn to be idle, as
they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips
and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” (I
Timothy 5:13). While this particular
warning comes from a specific era and situation, I think the overall caution is
valid. I have learned that when I don’t
have much going on, I become less disciplined and more anxious. When I see people – especially young people –
without much to do, I often notice problems developing. We all have energy that needs to be used, if
we don’t invest it in worthwhile efforts, we are apt to get wrapped up in
illicit activities.
Do we have too much time
on our hands? Maybe it is time we find
more to do so that we can have less trouble in our lives and in our world.