You Are Getting Sleepy....

(Proverbs 20:13 KJV)  Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

This verse strikes close to home.  I am not a morning person.  I am not sure I am an afternoon person either, but my life has not been based on bouncing out of the bed in the morning with joy in my heart.  The first application of this is obviously about getting up to go to work.  My father used to occasionally get us boys up before school to push a wheelbarrow of concrete.  It makes a great story now but at the time I considered it cruel and unusual punishment.

I “love” (157) “sleep” (8142) but I have changed my pattern of living.  I have begun to get up earlier than I want to.  The first impetus was a desire to find time to meet with the Lord.  I kept telling myself I could meet with him after work.  It didn’t happen.  In order to make sure we were in contact I had to set my alarm earlier and make it a priority.  Since Proverbs does not equate wealth with gold and silver but wisdom and understanding, I must conclude that part of the point here is that if we want to avoid spiritual poverty we need to not take naps.

A second impetus was getting older.  I am finding that I can’t lay in bed as long as I used to do.  Aging bladders and aching backbones go a long way to get us moving at a certain age.  I guess that is a reason to rejoice in advanced years.  Who would have guessed?

So?  Take your Sunday Afternoon nap.  Sleep in on Saturday.  That is not the point.  At the same time, make time for the Lord, even if it means getting your bones out of bed earlier.  It will help you avoid spiritual poverty.