188. Wisdom For Life’s Relationships: Laziness Or Love (Proverbs 19:15-16)

8/3/2025

Turn with me to Proverbs 19:15-16. These are our verses to study and memorize this week.

Proverbs 19:15-16 Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger. 16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of conduct will die.

Introduction

In order to get the most out of our understanding of these two verses, it would be very helpful to see and remember their context. The larger section of Proverbs that we are studying goes from Proverbs 18:22-19:24. It deals with wisdom for life’s relationships. It shows us what true friendship and true wealth looks like according to God.

The first verse began by looking at the closest relationship a man can have—a wife from God. Proverbs 18:23-19:8 then moves from marriage to true friendship (particularly in light of the deceptions of money). Proverbs 19:9-14 expands the scope to examine broader relationships in society (particularly in relation to government) before returning to the family and marriage in the last couple verses. A chiasm in verses 15-24, which we are beginning to look at now, caps things off with additional wisdom for our relationships (particularly in light of our relationship to God).

Solomon has carefully tied all of these verses together with some repeated refrains, along with the thematic connections. Proverbs 18:22 references one who “finds a good thing” and 19:8 repeats that by noting “He who keeps understanding will find good.” 19:16, which we will look at today, repeats that “keeping understanding” idea when it talks about one who “keeps the commandment keeps his soul.” Through all of this we are learning God’s ways for “finding good” in our relationships. That way of finding good is through “keeping understanding” or “keeping the commandment.” The one who walks in obedience to God’s wisdom, as given in His Word, finds the good that He has intended for us.

Proverbs 19:15-24 will now cap off all of this teaching on finding good in our relationships by giving us a chiasm that even more explicitly ties all of this in to our relationship to God. This chiasm is beautifully arranged.

The first and last verses, verses 15 and 24, match with their focus on the danger of laziness.

The next matching verses, 16 and 23, focus on obedience to the Lord. They also form a nice contrast to each other by the first one focusing on the danger of death through neglecting obedience, and the latter one focusing on the blessing of life that comes through fearing the Lord.

Verses 17 and 22 match with their focus on kindness and graciousness as well as the poor man.

Following these matching outer bands of the chiasm, verses 18-21 then form the emphasized center of the chiasm with two sets of correlating verses.

Having learned the danger of laziness in our relationships, the importance of intentional obedience to God’s Word for our relationships, and the importance of kindness and graciousness to people within society, verses 18-19 give important warnings about true love in relationships related to discipline. This is done with a couple rare direct addresses and a command. We must pro-actively discipline our children unless we want their death. Similarly, we are to let angry people be disciplined by bearing the consequences of their actions. Otherwise they will not learn. We will need to continually bail them out.

Verses 20 and 21 then conclude the center of the chiasm by giving us the most important element. Like the previous two verses it also begins with a rare (for this section of proverbs) direct command. To be wise the rest of our days we must listen to wisdom’s discipline and counsel. We must always allow God’s wisdom to change our plans and to guide our hearts. We must be teachable. As we do these things we will indeed find true good in our relationships as we hold onto God’s wisdom by our obedience to it. Without this, all of our instruction, and all of the wisdom that we hear will prove empty and worthless. We must heed it.

This then is the context of our verses that we are starting to look at here. They are beginning this God-centered chiasm while also connecting us back to the rest of this passage on finding good in our relationships. With that overview, let’s take a closer look now at Proverbs 19:15-16 and continue studying God’s wisdom for our relationships.¹

15 Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger.

Laziness results in inaction when action is needed. It results in impoverishment and the lack of life’s necessities. This proverb emphasizes the consequences of laziness.

This proverb connects to the end of the chiasm in 19:24 with its parallel about how foolish the laziness of a sluggard can become. There it says that:

Proverbs 19:24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Laziness does not provide what we need to live. It leaves us in desperate need of the very necessities of life. In its extremity, the lazy person will not even expend the effort to go and get what they need when it is being given to them. They want others to feed it to them or bring it to them and take care of all the details. Since this verse comes within the context of our verses about finding good in our relationships we see that it not only is telling us of the direct danger of laziness but it also directs us to consider the realities of laziness on our relationships. Laziness does not build relationships that enable us to deal with hard times. Rather, laziness ruins relationships. It causes people to not want to help us since we ourselves will not work to meet our own needs. Many people are glad to help someone who is willing to put in some work for it themselves. Very few want to subsidize and help those who are quite obviously lazy.

This laziness that it talks about in the first part of the verse puts one into a deep sleep. This is not just the word for drowsy, or tired, or general sleep. This is a deep sleep where one is dead to the world. Laziness dulls one’s senses to where the normal things that would push us to action do nothing. Normal and wise concerns for the future are ignored. The dangers of one’s situation are minimized, ignored, and overlooked. Laziness has a way of growing and becoming worse. It is a selfishness that just wants to do what it feels like doing in the moment. The more one pampers that kind of thinking and behavior the more the laziness grows and takes over. Eventually people going down this road begin to expect others to cater to them, meet their needs, and give them what they want. They try to manipulate people and think they deserve everything. They are so used to someone always rescuing them eventually that they become callous to the dangers and realities of their situation.
They do not see or they choose to ignore the problems they are causing in their life, to their spouse, or in their family’s life. Eventually the consequences come. The physical hunger, the lack of necessities, the eviction, the divorce, or the destitution comes. Ecclesiastes 10:18 puts the situation this way:

Ecclesiastes 10:18 Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.

Proverbs 10:4-5 expressed it this way:

Proverbs 10:4-5 Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

This kind of laziness can seem to come from quite a number of different sources. It could be as simple as the reality that work is often hard, painful, and unpleasant. So they avoid it. Often, however, there is more behind the laziness than that: selfishness, pride, an entitlement mentality, addiction, drugs, alcohol, depression, the affects of other sin, and more. Regardless of what it stems from, though, we need to deal with those issues and the ensuing sinful laziness in God’s way. Proverbs 6:6-11 gave us this counsel:

Proverbs 6:6-11 Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. 9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”— 11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.

When we find ourselves feeling or being lazy we need to consider our ways and their outcome. We need to consider the wisdom of hard work that God built into creation even within the animal kingdom. Then we need to repent of any sin, entrust our struggles to God, and walk with Him according to His wisdom. We must not coddle our sins and make excuses for our behaviors. We must not let our struggles cause us to stray into or continue in sinful laziness. If we do it will grow and bring damage to us, our marriage, our families, our church, and our community. We must place our faith in God, His Word, His promises, His help, and His Spirit. Day by day, moment by moment, we must take every sinful thought and desire captive and subject it to God’s Word. Then we must walk in obedience to Him one step at a time. Do you have any laziness or sins pushing you towards laziness that you need to deal with?

All that being said, this proverb give us one facet of reality related to hunger and poverty. This verse does not picture every situation. Wisdom and discernment guide us in rightly applying it to specific life situations. This proverb does not say that everyone suffering hunger is a result of laziness. So we must not understand this verse that way. It does, however, point out that a dangerous result of laziness is our own hunger and lack. If we are suffering hunger and lack it is right to ask ourselves if we have brought it upon ourselves. If so, then turn to God and His way of wisdom for rescue.

Scriptural Example: In Scripture we have a very literal example of this proverb in Exodus 16:21-27. God daily gave Israel manna to eat during their wilderness sojourning. With only one exception, if they tried to keep it for the next day it rotted and got worms. Notice what happened to some of the people.

Exodus 16:21-27 They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt. 22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” 24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” 27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.

God explicitly gave these instructions for them to gather extra on Friday. On that day they were to work extra, prepare it, and save it for the next day. But some of the people were lazy and did not make that extra effort. They had gotten used to just going out and gathering what they needed each morning. But on the Sabbath it was not there. Their laziness and disobedience literally led to them going hungry that day.

We also see this laziness and its consequences in the parable in Matthew 25:1-13 with the 5 foolish virgins who did not prepare for the coming of the bridegroom. They knew he was coming. They even prepared to the extent of bringing lamps and going out to where they would meet him. But they took no extra oil with them. They were too lazy to do anything that took extra effort or cost. Then when they ended up needing to leave to get oil the bridegroom came and they missed their opportunity. Their laziness had consequences. In this case they were eternal ones, as this parable represented the kingdom of heaven and people’s preparations for it. What a warning about the danger of laziness!

We also see this laziness in the very next parable in Matthew 25:14-30 where three servants were entrusted with varying amounts of money while their master went off on a journey. This parable also dealt with people’s preparations for the kingdom of heaven. The first two servants invested and worked with the money and were able to double what they were given. But the third servant simply went out and buried it. He was too lazy to use it to earn more for the master or to even put it into a bank. He just lived as if his master and his masters return were non-existent. When his master did return he was called to account for his wicked laziness and sent off to eternal judgment.

Laziness has consequences. If we do not work and we misuse what we have those consequences can be harsh as we come to lack food, transportation, a place to stay, or other necessities and conveniences of life. However, if we are lazy and indifferent towards God the consequences are much worse and can be eternal.

Scripture tells us plainly the reality of our situation before God.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (KJV)

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (KJV)

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (KJV)

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. (KJV)

Because of our sin we are enemies of God and awaiting His judgment. Jesus is the only way of salvation from God’s just and holy wrath. We cannot earn forgiveness. We do not deserve redemption. Yet, Jesus willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for the sin of all those who would trust Him as Lord and Savior. It is a gift we need to accept, surrender to, and trust in. We must turn from trusting in and following our own way to trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we put this off the consequences of our laziness and indifference towards God will have eternal consequences. Hebrews 9:27 makes this clear.

Hebrews 9:27 It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. (KJV)

After death there will be no second chances. It will be too late. The ultimate laziness on this issue of our relationship with God will have the ultimate consequence with God’s just judgment upon us when He casts us into the lake of fire. Have you trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Do not put it off!

Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see that God has some strong and important truths for us to consider. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 tells us this:

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

Laziness is not to be tolerated among God’s people. We are directly commanded to work, meet our needs, and not be busybodies. We are to have disciplined lives. I do find it interesting that it says “willing to work” in verse 10. There are times when the will and desire are present, but the ability or opportunity is not. In those cases we are to do the best we can to pursue work. We can also look to find ways to be the opposite of being busybodies and leading an undisciplined life. We can look to see ways that we can help other believers while we have extra time available. It might not be paid work, but it can be edifying works of service and love.

In contrast to the laziness that leads to a deep sleep in our proverb, Ephesians 5:8-17 tells us the attitude, focus, and alertness that ought to characterize our lives as Christians.

Ephesians 5:8-17 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

We are to awake from the stupor, the blindness, the sin, and the darkness that once characterized our lives. We are to be alert. Instead of being oblivious to the good works, the service, and the important things of life we are to be awake. We are to be intentionally pursuing good. We are to consider what we do with our lives and why we do it. We are to be wise in our behaviors, choices, and activities. We are to make the most of our time. The days are evil. This world system is pursuing an empty, destructive way of life that can easily deceive us. We are not to be building our own kingdom, and following their example. That would be evil! Rather, we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It does not matter how much money and things we can accrue in this life. It does not matter how much fun and pleasure we can experience. What matters is the will of the Lord. What matters is what He has saved us for. What matters is becoming Christ-like. What matters is using what we have to make disciples of all nations, to have godly, Christ-reflecting marriages, to raise Godly children, to meet our needs physically, to help others also, to use our gifts and abilities to build one another up to do the work of the ministry together.

In this regard, Revelation 16:15 declares a special blessing on the one who takes heed, is not lazy, and does not waste his life in the world’s empty pursuits. It does it with a very sobering contrast.

Revelation 16:15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)

Jesus is coming back. He is going to find us in whatever situation we are actually in. There will be no hiding if we have mostly lived life like the world around us. Our only options are to stay awake and keep our clothes by faithfully living for Him, or to be lazy and end up being shamed by walking about in our nakedness. In that case we will be like the story of the emperor without clothes who was deceived and masquerading around as if he were dressed in the finest of clothing while in reality he had nothing on. May we not let our laziness, self-focus, and the deceitful lies of the world push us into this foolishness and disgrace.

Truth in Connection: As we connect this with our lives, 1 Corinthians 3:11-17 gives us a final warning about the outcome of living a lazy life instead of being alert and living for what matters:

1 Corinthians 3:11-17 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

May we be people who build on the foundation of Jesus Christ those things which will last to eternity and not that which will be burned away as useless and lazy. Our next proverb continues to give us God’s wisdom for finding good in our relationships as it expands our chiasm.

16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of conduct will die.

The one guarding his obedience to God’s Word guards his soul, but the one neglecting to be careful of what he does will be destroyed by that carelessness. This proverb emphasizes that our earthly and eternal future depends on intentionally following God’s way of wisdom now.

As we noted earlier, this verse importantly connects back to Proverbs 19:8 which declares that “He who keeps understanding will find good.” In the first part of our verse we are very similarly told that “He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul.” This repetition highlights for us the centrality and importance of obedience to God’s Word. We absolutely need to abide by His wisdom. That is the only way that our souls can be rescued, saved, delivered, preserved and protected from sin and destruction.

Within our chiasm, that extends from Proverbs 19:15-24, this verse is also paired with Proverbs 19:23. It too highlights this same theme from another angle:

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Proverbs 19:23 ends on a very positive note of encouragement. Walking in the fear of the Lord leads to life and a satisfied sleep, untouched by evil. What a breath of fresh air that promise brings! Our verse in Proverbs 19:16, though, ends in the opposite way with a stark warning. If we do not keep the commandment, but rather are careless of our conduct, we will die. We will be killed.

That being said, it is extremely important that we keep this commandment! Interestingly enough, the word for commandment there is singular and specific: “the commandment.” This is not just a generic verse telling us to keep the commandments or Word of God. Rather, it appears designed to bring us back to the most important and central one from which all the rest flow. We find that in Deuteronomy 6:4-6 and reiterated by Jesus when He was questioned by the religious leaders about the most important command (Matthew 22:37-40). This is what Deuteronomy 6:4-6 tells us:

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

The command which we must guard or keep in order to keep our souls is to love the one true God with all our heart, soul, and might. It is the heart from which all the other commandments flow. If we are careless of loving God it will lead to our death. This will be physically, eternally, or both.

Scriptural Example: When we look to Scripture for illustrations of this, we see numerous examples. Adam and Eve disregarded God’s one command to them and brought death into the world when they chose not to love God but rather to exalt their desires over Him (Genesis 3-5).

In Genesis 19:26 Lot’s wife chose to disregard God’s command to not look back on Sodom and Gomorrah after He rescued them from its destruction. She was turned into a pillar of salt because she loved that wicked city more than God. (Genesis 19:16-26. Cf. also Luke 17:22-33)

In Exodus 32 Israel directly defied God’s command about not making graven images and made a golden calf when Moses was slow to return from his time on Mount Sinai. They were careless of their conduct and thousands of them died under God’s judgment because they loved idols more than Him.

In 1 Samuel 15 Saul was careless of his conduct. He did not faithfully fulfill God’s commandment to kill all the wicked Amalekites and their animals that God had delivered over to complete destruction. He had rejected full obedience to God and God rejected him as king over Israel. He loved things and the praise of people more than obedience to God. (cf. also Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it in Numbers 20:7-12, Uzzah reaching out to steady the Ark of the Covenant in 2 Samuel 6:6-7, etc.)

Proverb in Comparison: When we compare our proverb with the rest of Scriptures we see the danger of neglecting God’s Word and our salvation quite a number of times throughout the book of Hebrews in its warning passages. Look at Hebrews 10:19-27 (and really on to the end of the chapter).

Hebrews 10:19-27 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.

We must not be careless of our conduct. We must not go on sinning willfully. We must hold fast the confession of our hope. We must stir one another up to love and good deeds. If we do not, the alternative is terrifying. For a non-believer who did not truly believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior it will be the eternal judgment of the lake of fire. For the believer it will be the direct discipline of God Himself. Terrifying!

Truth in Connection: As we connect all of this to our lives, we need to ask ourselves if we are carefully guarding our hearts with what it loves. We need to ask ourselves if we are keeping the commandment to love, with all our heart, soul, and might, the one true God of the Bible? Or, are we becoming lazy? Are we neglecting our conduct and opening ourselves up to the dangers that brings?

Whenever we stop loving God more than anything else we begin becoming lazy. We neglect our obedience to His commandments. This can happen when we start valuing money and its pursuit more than loving and serving God and loving and serving other people. This can happen when we start valuing our comfort, convenience, and pleasure as the main priority in life. All of that can be a bit vague, though, when we are examining our lives. How then can we concretely know if we are becoming lazy and neglecting obedience to God’s command? Here are 9 ways to examine ourselves.

1. If we increase our main focus in life to being on entertainment, vacations, things, food, making or saving money, and enjoying the pleasures of life rather from being on seeking out how to use our gifts and abilities to serve God’s people and to make disciples of Jesus then we are in danger of being lazy and neglecting our conduct. How much time have you spent this week pursuing your pleasure versus serving God and others? By the way you use your “free” time, what is actually your main focus in life?

2. If we become sporadic in our church attendance and involvement we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. Do you come to all three services of the church each week and the monthly men’s or women’s supper? Do you really want to be involved with God’s people, or make excuses not to?

3. If we stop, decrease, or do not financially give to the church, to missionaries, and to helping others we are in danger of being lazy and neglecting our conduct. How much have you given financially to God’s work this month? Do you want to use what you have for God and others?

4. If we become sporadic or stop having daily times reading God’s Word we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. How many times have you read God’s Word this week apart from at church? Do you want to spent time in God’s Word?

5. If we become sporadic or stop having dedicated times of prayer with God we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. How many times have you spent extra time in prayer other than at meals and when repenting of sin this week?

6. If we become sporadic or stop memorizing or meditating on God’s Word we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. Have you spent any time this week journaling, memorizing, or otherwise directly meditating on Scripture? Do you delight in meditating on God’s Word?

7. If we become sporadic or stop reading Christian books, listening to or singing edifying Christian music we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. Have you sung any songs to the Lord this week other than at church? Have you read any books or listened to any sermons this week other than at church? How about this month?

8. If we become sporadic, stop, or do not share our faith with unbelievers we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. Have you been able to share the gospel, give your testimony, or give a gospel of John to anyone this week or month?

9. If we become sporadic or stop taking specific time to meet with other individual believers to help disciple them in their growth with God or to help us grow as disciples of Jesus we are likely becoming lazy and neglecting our conduct. Outside of church, have you met with anyone this week, or even this month to specifically help them in their walk with God? Or to help you grow in your walk with God?

All that being said, I will not pretend that we all always have time for every one of these things every week. There very well can be weeks where our essential responsibilities before God to care for our families may mean we do not have time for every one of these. Likewise, we do not always have opportunities for every one of these. But, oftentimes the honest reality is that if we have time to scroll for hours on our phones on social media, or money to go out to eat at restaurants, or time to watch movies, or opportunities to spend hours on our current hobby, or to go work out then we are choosing to prioritize those things over loving God and keeping His commandments if we find ourselves falling short in these 9 category areas. We need to be honest with ourselves and make sure that we are not despising our way of life and God’s plan for it as this proverb talks about. God has given it to us in His Word. If we have trusted in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then He has also given to us His Holy Spirit to help and enable us to love God, walk righteously, and serve lovingly. Will we?

If you need help and accountability with this, or want to get an honest assessment, there are some very practical ways to do this. You can ask your spouse or your closest friend. He or she probably has a good idea what you spend your time, money, and focus on. Beyond that, most phones have a record of how much time was spent on them each day or week. Likewise, we can look at our bank statements and see what we spent money on. Did we spend it on things and eating out instead of giving? As has been suggested by Pastor Combs in the past, we can use our calendar and mark on it every time we went to a church service (or use your phone calendar). We could also write down whenever we meet with people to help disciple them or be discipled. We could start a prayer journal to pray for all the people that we have the opportunity to share the gospel or our testimony with. That will give us an idea if we are actually talking and sharing with people.

We could work on memorizing Scripture with others. We could be intentional to always have a book that we are reading to help us grow in some area of our life. We could then write down in our calendar whenever we finish one of those books, or write out a few paragraphs on what we learned or what was most helpful from the book. We could be intentional to use commute times, workout times, cooking times, or house-cleaning times to listen to messages or memorize Scripture. We could share our scripture journaling times with our families on a weekly or regular basis to encourage one another. We could read Christian biographies together in the evenings or on weekends. There are so many ways we could do these things and evaluate how we are actually doing.

All that being said, none of these are intended to be done as some kind of to-do check list to be spiritual. Anything can become a “chore” or be done out of a motive other than love for God. Doing these things does not mean we love God. We can do things with the wrong motives. But if we love God, we will be doing these kinds of things because we want to.

Legalism or mere external obedience is not the goal with any of these questions and suggestions—at all. Rather, this kind of examination should help reveal to us what we really love. Do we truly love God? Or do we just mostly pay lip-service to Him and actually love the world? If we find that we are loving the world, or are straying in that direction then we need to humble ourselves before God and see the sinful destructiveness of that way of life. We need to repent. We need to remember our first love. We need to remember what Jesus did to rescue us from our sin on the cross. We need to remember the consequences of sin. We need to remember and meditate on the amazingness of Jesus’ love, grace, and mercy to us personally. Then, with love for Jesus and because of His great love for us we will be inspired and encouraged to pursue knowing and serving Him. Nothing that we could ever do could come close to repaying what He has done, is doing, and will do for us with the eternal life that He has given to us at His expense on the cross. May we concretely and truly grow in our love for God and in helping each other to grow in knowing, and living out that love.

Conclusion

Lastly, I would say this. One of the reasons we might not be loving God like we have described, is because we do not actually know Him as our Lord and Savior. We may know about Him, but not truly know His freedom from sin, His forgiveness, and His eternal life. We might not truly be new creations in Jesus. See your need for Him. Turn from your sin. See Jesus’ love. Trust Him as your Lord and Savior.

If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to truly know Jesus, please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.

© 2025, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org