Am I being lazy for not getting my homework done?

Last updated on October 11, 2020

Question:

Is not doing your homework considered slothfulness? At one time I was really tired and my eyes were hurting because I didn’t go to sleep when I arrived home from school. I was worried about something which took 4-5 hours of my time since I was constantly searching on the web because of it. It is not the first time I’ve done this. After I stopped, I realized if I went to sleep, I would probably wake up late, but at the same time, it wasn’t that late, so I thought, “Hey, why not watch a few videos regarding the psychological facts about love?” (Yes, I am curious about those type of things), so I did. When I next looked at the time, it was kind of late. I got up to get my homework, and I went to bed to do it there. The problem was I was tired, my eyes were hurting, and I felt like I was losing a sense of the reality all around me. So after doing some work, though “Uagh… I can’t do this.” I put everything away and went to sleep without completing all the work I needed to do. Is this a good example of sinful slothfulness? 

Answer:

What you have is a lack of priorities. You put off the work that you least liked until the very end. The proper thing to do is do your homework first, and then use the spare time at the end of the day to learn new things and watch entertaining videos. But doing what you have to do first, you give yourself an incentive to get it done quickly so you have more time to do the fun things.

As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed” (Proverbs 26:14). Lazy people do things but none of the things they do are actually productive. You spent a whole evening doing things, none of which accomplished what needed to be done.