by Kevin Maxey
Synopsis: Paul counted himself as a servant of Christ and a steward of God's mysteries (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Are we trustworthy or slothful? Are we wise or wasteful? How are we using the limited resources that have been entrusted to us?
According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, your chance of winning the average lottery is 1 in 200 million. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning (1 in 56,439), dying from a flesh-eating disease (1 in 1 million), or finding an ant on a football field while blindfolded (1 in 14 million). Is it worth it to risk money while wasting time playing games of chance? Don't bet on it!
English dictionaries associate wasteful behavior with four types of action: careless conduct, reckless destruction, useless consumption, and excessive indulgence. Wasteful behavior involves spending time, energy, and resources on things of decreasing, little, or no value. Wasteful behavior involves foolishly exchanging what is valuable for what is worthless. According to God, wasteful behavior aligns you with the character of the slothful man (Prov. 21:5), the prodigal son (Luke 15:13), and the unprofitable servant (Luke 16:1).
Many of Jesus's parables present the principle of stewardship. The prodigal son wasted his inheritance on extravagant and sinful living (Luke 15:13). The unprofitable servant wasted his master's possessions (Luke 16:1). The one-talent man wasted his master's goods (Matt. 25:14-30). "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness" (Matt. 25:29-30). We are accountable for how we use the possessions that have been entrusted into our care. "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" (Luke 16:10).
Gambling is "a type of transaction between two parties in which something of value is transferred from one to the other solely on the basis of an uncertain outcome of some event, or on mere chance" (Pocket Dictionary of Ethics, 45-46). Gambling violates several biblical principles relating to stewardship, brotherly love, covetousness, family provision, and addictive behavior.
Some say gambling is a harmless form of entertainment. What could be wrong with lottery tickets, friendly wagers, slot machines, and sports betting? According to Maremont and Berzon, a study of gamblers' winnings revealed 89% lost money over a two-year period. Of the 11% who made money, most earned less than $150. Ninety-five percent of gamblers who bet the most money in the same study lost money, some losing tens of thousands of dollars. Gambling is a bad bet.
What are your most valued possessions? What are you saving to buy? Jesus affirmed, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt. 6:19-20). Don't waste your life accumulating treasure that you cannot take with you. You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. Remember the words of Jesus: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26).
Roman philosopher Seneca, circa 49 AD, observed, "It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it, until…forced at last by the ultimate necessity, we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing." No one purposefully chooses this path, but millions passively allow this path to choose them.
God exposes this folly of wasting time. The rich man built and re-built, filled and re-filled his barns. However, God required his neglected soul and condemned him as a fool (Luke 12:13-21). Are you wasting your time chasing after things that won't last (illusive popularity, ungodly passions, fickle status, fleeting wealth)? Similarly, the determined builder constructed a house on the sand, but the storm destroyed that unstable house, and God labeled him as a fool (Matt. 7:24-27). Are you wasting time building on untested foundations that are doomed to collapse? Wisdom calls you to redeem, not waste time (Col. 4:5; Eph. 5:16). The Greek word exagorazo, rendered "redeeming," means "to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good" (Thayer, 220). Are you making wise and sacred use of your time? Consider the following examples of youthful timewasters.
According to a study by Common Sense Media, teenagers average nine hours a day accessing some form of entertainment media via cell phones, tablets, computers, video games, etc.
We often hear, "There is nothing inherently wrong with using electronic devices." Even so, screen time quickly adds up to days and weeks and years of your life. Nine hours a day turns into sixty-three hours a week, 273 hours a month, and 3,285 hours a year. Are you "average"? Is it the best use of your time to spend over 3,000 hours a year on your cell phone, laptop, or iPad? Imagine how much good you can accomplish for the Lord in 3,000 hours!
Consider not only the quantity of time you spend on electronics but contemplate the quality. What is your mind consuming during all of those hours? Are you filling your heart with provocative photos on Instagram, seductive links on the internet, pornographic websites, violent video games, or movies filled with profanity and promiscuity? Instead, why not resolve, "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes" (Ps. 101:3)?
Tragically, electronics waste more than time. They also waste emotional stability and meaningful face-to-face interactions. For example, a 2018 study conducted by Pew Research found approximately 40% of teenagers, especially girls, experience increased anxiety when not in possession of their cellphone. The same survey explained, "56% of teens associate the absence of their cellphone with at least one of these three emotions: loneliness, being upset or feeling anxious." Psychologists call this condition the "fear of missing out" (FOMO).
Instead of wasting time doing too much of something, the slothful person wastes time doing nothing at all. The slothful person is one "not easily aroused to activity," is disinclined to work, loves ease, dislikes activity, and possesses an "inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for" (Merriam-Webster). Slothful souls are neither helpful nor welcome. "Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him" (Prov. 10:26) .
Concerned about her "lazy" teenager, one mom sent the following letter to a professional parent life coach:
My 13-year-old daughter is driving me crazy. She lays around all day like a lazy teen sloth, scrolling mindlessly on her phone. When I ask her to do something, she'll say "ok" but never does it. . . When I see how unmotivated and ungrateful she is, I feel like I've wasted my time. . . I feel disrespected when she lays on the couch, zones out, ignores me. I'm worried my daughter will always be like this, and it's too late to teach her to be different.
In response to this frustration, Lori Henderson, a "Master Certified Life Coach" gave the following worldly advice:
Congratulations. It sounds like your 13-year-old has officially entered adolescence and is a typical teenager. . . It's possible that our teenagers are wiser and less susceptible to cultural insanity than we are. What if they are here to remind us of the importance of relaxation? . . .it is possible to be a good mom and have a lazy kid. . . Praise yourself for teaching her that it's ok to rest and chill. . . question the thoughts that are saying that her behavior is wrong and bad.
This is the exact opposite of truths affirmed in God's divine wisdom. Far from praising inactivity, the word of God declares, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might" (Eccl. 9:10). No matter how many life coaches affirm otherwise, God does not accept the excuses of lazy, slothful teens (Prov. 26:13-16; Eccl. 11:4). Wastefulness only wins if we ignore the slow creep of dissipation. Rise to the challenge and "let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Phil. 1:27). Do not let wasteful behavior win in you. Resolve, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
Grenz, S.J., and J.T. Smith. Pocket Dictionary of Ethics. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003.
Henderson, Lori. "Lazy Teen Sloth: What to Do?" Life Coaching for Parents, June 29, 2020. https://lifecoachingforparents.com/lazy-teen/.
Jiang, Jingjing. "How Teens and Parents Navigate Screen Time and Device Distractions." Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Pew Research Center, August 14, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/08/22/how-teens-and-parents-navigate-screen-time-and-device-distractions/.
"Landmark Report: U.S. Teens Use an Average of Nine Hours of Media Per Day, Tweens Use Six Hours." Common Sense Media, November 3, 2015. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/landmark-report-us-teens-use-an-average-of-nine-hours-of-media-per-day.
Maremont, Mark, and Alexandra Berzon. "How Often Do Gamblers Really Win?" The Wall Street Journal. October 11, 2013. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-often-do-gamblers-really-win-1381514164.
Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. New York: Harper & Brothers., 1889.
"What Are Odds?" CAMH.net. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, n.d. https://www.problemgambling.ca/gambling-help/gambling-information/what-are-odds.aspx.
