Since we are working on productivity this week I looked back for this post on idle hands which I wrote in 2005.  I’ll add some  current comment at the end.

Idle hands

Josh, Jess and I had a good discussion while shopping today.  Some boys Joshua’s age bumped into us as they were running through Coles which lead us to discuss the appropriateness of running or even playing in Coles.  The kids could immediately see (and offered it up themselves without prompting) that it was inappropriate because the boys were not considering all the other people who were there.  I wanted more….

We discussed why they were doing this (what was the heart motivation that lead to this behaviour?) This was tricky and the kids didn’t immediately see the connection. … My point was idle hands lead to foolish decisions.

We have a principle that the kids have to spend their time wisely, this includes their playtime and even the time they have with their friends (I do let them sit and talk but not endlessly).  My belief is that just “hanging” ends up being idle.

Ec 10:18 – When the owner is lazy, the roof sags; when hands are idle, the house leaks.

The kids don’t “own a house” so what is in this scripture for them…. The house is them, their life.  When they are lazy, when behaviour/choices get sloppy, hands are idle (lazy, nothing to do) then the house (their being, life, behaviour, them…) starts to leak, fall apart.

Examples of things falling apart – inappropriate choices, unwise words, unkind actions, silliness, lack of self-control.

There are many scriptures that talk about the results of idleness, or laziness.

TODAY’s THOUGHTS:  Though it is good to see an example of poor choices outside of the home we really need to bring the lesson back to ourselves.  How are we being idle?  When do we just ‘hang’ here at home with no real purpose?  and a question we’ve been considering – When I am idle what poor choices do I make?

It is different for each of us – for me being idle will mean browsing senselessly online, checking emails  every 5 minutes, and grazing from the fridge!  For Daniel it means wanting stuff – wanting more lego, wanting more computer time, wanting more ability….etc.

I think three character issues are at stake:  self control, diligence and gratefulness.    I’ll be thinking on that a little more when I see these poor choices being made in our home.