Let us work when it’s time to work, rest when it’s time to rest, and make the most of every opportunity.

In June 2022, the national unemployment rate was just 3.6%. But that figure, encouraging as it sounds, doesn’t tell the whole employment story. Nor does it mean the effects of the “Great Resignation” have passed. Another set of employment figures — the labor force participation rate — informs us that the percentage of people who either have a job or are actively looking for one, now stands at just 62.2%.

That means, says Heritage Foundation research fellow Rachel Greszler, “There are 755,000 fewer Americans employed today than prior to the pandemic,” even though the 16+ population has increased by 4.2 million.

That begs the question, what are these unemployed people doing? How are they filling their days, nights, and weekends? We can assume that some took early retirement, while others are training for new careers. Still, the Great Resignation begs a non-economic question: How should we use our time? And how are we to think about being idle?

You don’t have to look far to see signs of idleness in today’s culture. Binge watching the latest Netflix original, sleeping past nine, lurking on social media into the night — even streaming church on Sunday and never changing out of our pajamas. These things have become common in a world reordered by a pandemic. Idleness has become so ingrained that the shock we once felt toward these behaviors has practically vanished.

This cultural shift affects not just the young, but people of all ages whose lives have moved from productive to idle. As God’s people, what are we to make of this? And what must we do?

The Sluggard

We must first see that the Bible takes a dim view of idleness. This is clear in how Proverbs speaks of the sluggard. The word is used 14 times in the book of Proverbs; thus painting a clear and unflattering picture: They spend their days in bed (6:9, 16:14); they not only receive nothing, they desire nothing (13:4); they make absurd excuses for remaining idle (14:13, 26:13); they do not work (20:4, 24:30); they are so lazy that to feed themselves is taxing (19:4, 26:15); and those who look upon them see that they’re unwise (15:19, 26:14).

Even so, more and more people have become comfortable with the ways of the sluggard, and they feel little to no shame.

Why is that? Perhaps we have embraced a distorted vision of rest — and of work — and thereby devalued our labors.

Let’s look first at the value of work.

The Goodness of Work

We must reject idleness because God offers a much larger view of life and work for His people. We see it in the very beginning, when God created man and woman and placed them in the Garden, He had work for them to do. He said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Man was given a mandate within creation to exercise responsible dominion over the world: to tend the ground, bring forth plants, name and govern the animals. This was man’s job.

The goodness of work remains even after mankind’s Fall and all its consequences (Genesis 3). Even so — even now — “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil (emphasis added). This also, I saw, is from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).  Toil, labor, work — these are to be pursued and enjoyed because they come from God.

This positive reflection of work is not only an Old Testament ideal, but a New Testament one as well. Paul tells the church at Thessalonica that those who are not willing to work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Nor should they be dependent upon others when they themselves are able to work. Rather, they should “do their work quietly and … earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:12).

Though there may be incentive not to work because of public assistance, Christians are to resist the pull toward idleness and pursue opportunities to labor. This not only provides the laborer with the dignity of earning a living; it also relieves the community of an avoidable burden.

Another reason for rejecting idleness is that through work we gain the ability to be generous to others. This is what Paul’s getting at in Ephesians 4 when he calls on the thief to stop stealing and perform honest labor “so that he may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).

Therefore, both Old and New Testaments present work as something to be embraced, not something to be avoided for the sake of idleness.

Of course, there are those who would like to work but because of age or opportunity are unable to. Even they are not given a pass. We are still called to be productive with our time and to make the most of every opportunity. This may be in the realm of a nine-to-five job, but it may also be reflected in giving our time to our neighbors, extending hospitality, committing ourselves to prayer, and pursuing other ways to serve behind the scenes.

The Dangers of Being Idle

While the positive nature of work should motivate us to reject idleness, the negative repercussions of such sloth are also reflected in Scripture. Paul speaks of the dangers associated with idleness in Ephesians 5:15-16: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil.” The maxim “idle hands are the devil’s tools” is valid even though it is not a biblical quotation. Think about the last time you had nothing to do, sitting on the couch as another episode of “The Office” (or whatever your 30-minute “fill the void” show might be) drones on in the background. Where does your mind go? Where there is a vacuum, something fills it. Many of us fill the void with fantasies about wealth that isn’t ours, about women or men we aren’t married to, a long-lost relationship, or a body we wish we had. When our minds are given space to wander, they rarely run in a healthy direction.

Also, in times of idleness, it is easy to let our guard down. In those moments we don’t fight temptation, but too quickly indulge it. Our eyes, minds, hearts, and mouths — even in our indolence — are ever active. Hence, in 1 Timothy 5:13, Paul warned that widows who do not place their passions in Christ “learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.” Therefore, the wise person recognizes the dangers of idleness and refuses to make space for them. The wise stay active; they fill their minds, focus their dreams, and turn their hearts to that which is good, true, and beautiful.

The Goodness of Rest

Having established the goodness of work and the danger of idleness, the question may arise, “How does this relate to the biblical ideal of rest?”

First, it’s important to recognize that idleness is not rest. The dictionary defines idle as “doing nothing,” while rest is defined as “inactivity after exertion or labor.” A biblical understanding of rest would go further. Rest, from Scripture’s perspective, is inactivity after, and for the sake of, exertion or labor and worship. In other words, biblical rest isn’t ceasing from activity only because one has exerted him or herself; it is ceasing from activity to revive and refocus. We rest so that we might fully reengage in the activity the Lord has given.

Biblically, rest is good and necessary while idleness is sinful.

Consider the Westminster Confession of Faith. In 21.8, the Divines instruct us that the Sabbath is not only a day for rest from our employments but is also to be given to worship. Rest and worship are not to be separated. In fact, our worship of God reflects the spiritual rest we’re experiencing. It is restorative. It equips us to go into the world and reengage in the work God has given us. This is altogether different from idleness, which only begets more idleness.

To rest means we are trusting God. To cease from work for a day is to trust that the Lord will faithfully provide. This principle is illustrated during the wilderness wanderings of the Old Testament people of God. In the wilderness, resources were scarce; the people had no choice but to depend on God, who never failed them. As He provided manna and quail for His people, He commanded them to take only what they needed each day. They were not allowed to store up many days’ worth of food (Exodus 16:16-19). However, on the day before the Sabbath, they were to take enough for that day and the next (Exodus 16:22-30). Those who obeyed the Lord’s commands, were trusting in His word and His provision. The same is true of us. When we refrain from labor and obey God’s call to rest, we are trusting that He will give us what we need. Biblical rest is a practical expression of our dependence on God.

God’s definition of rest differs greatly from the idleness we see in our culture. To rest is to obey God’s commands, to depend on Him for our daily bread, and to devote ourselves to worshiping Him. Idleness, on the other hand, is to take the good gift of rest and corrupt it. Idleness devalues the goodness of labor, therefore, let us not be idle. Instead, let us rest when it is time to rest, let us work when it is time to work, and let us make the most of every opportunity.

John “Penny” Pennylegion is senior pastor of Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, Virginia. Penny has an MDiv and ThM from Covenant Theological Seminary. He is also the author of “I Am: The Statements of Jesus.”