God has no use for lazy men in His cause; He wants thoughtful, kind, affectionate, earnest workers. Active exertion will do our preachers good. Indolence is proof of depravity. Every faculty of the mind, every bone in the body, every muscle of the limbs, shows that God designed these faculties to be used, not to remain inactive. Brother A is too indolent to put his energies into the work and engage in persevering labor. Men who will unnecessarily take the precious hours of daylight for sleep have no sense of the value of precious, golden moments. Such men will prove only a curse to the cause of God. Brother A is self-inflated. He is not a close Bible student. He is not what he ought to be, nor what he may become by earnest exertion. He rouses up occasionally to do something; but his laziness, his natural love of ease, leads him to fall back again into the same sluggish channel. Persons who have not acquired habits of close industry and economy of time should have set rules to prompt th…
"Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;"
The EGW passage directly addresses the issue of slothfulness and the need for diligence in serving God, which aligns closely with the principle expressed in Romans 12:11.
"His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:"
The EGW passage's condemnation of laziness and its consequences thematically parallels the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, where the 'wicked and slothful servant' is rebuked for not using his talents diligently.
Washington, the nation's statesman, was enabled to perform a great amount of business because he was thorough in preserving order and regularity. Every paper had its date and its place, and no time was lost in looking up what had been mislaid. Men of God must be diligent in study, earnest in the acquirement of knowledge, never wasting an hour. Through persevering exertion they may rise to almost any degree of eminence as Christians, as men of power and influence. But many will never attain superior rank in the pulpit or in business because of their unfixedness of purpose and the laxness of habits contracted in their youth. Careless inattention is seen in everything they undertake. A sudden impulse now and then is not sufficient to accomplish a reformation in these ease-loving, indolent ones; this is a work which requires patient continuance in well- doing. Men of business can be truly successful only by having regular hours for rising, for prayer, for meals, and for retirement. If orde…
"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men."
The EGW passage emphasizes the importance of diligence and orderliness for success, which directly reflects the principle illustrated in Proverbs 22:29, where diligence is linked to standing before kings.