I don’t understand why, but in reading these proverbs I will pass over a few unimpressed to expound them. But then there will be another, expressing the same point, and it will slap me in the face. For example, we have read the word “slothful” in one form or other five times in earlier chapters, and I don’t remember stopping. Then last week as I read verse 15, a word popped into my head which isn’t found in the verse. But it seemed to demand that I consider it. In the back of my mind I heard “whatever.”
The word is quite useful in many circumstances, but the way in which it is often used today it has become disgusting. How many people reply to good advice by saying “whatever!” ? The thought seems to be – “I don’t care what your thoughts might be, I’m going to do what I want.” “Keep your opinions, your Bible exhortations, and even your kind considerations to yourself.” Slothfulness expresses itself in many ways, but one current form is found in “whatever!”
What is the source of this current “whatever“?
Don’t I hear this word and attitude most often in teenagers – especially unregenerated teenagers? This “whatever” flows out of the self-centered heart and soul. “Say whatever you like, but I will judge what you tell me, rejecting it if it doesn’t suit me.” Generally speaking just about every act of sin can be traced back to self. Why did Eve eat that forbidden fruit? Satan told her that God was withholding something from her. What motivated Lucifer to rebel and through which he became a devil? “I want to ascend above the heights of the clouds; I want to be like the most High.” Why did that man rob the pot store? Was it to punish an industry which is a cancer on our society? No, it was purely selfishness. Why did that woman kill her unborn baby? She certainly wasn’t thinking about the baby.
“Whatever” originates in the same selfishness. The preacher declares, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” and the sinful soul replies “whatever.” The prophet says, “Thus saith the Lord,” and the unbeliever thinks “whatever.” The Bible says, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together” and the backslidden man mutters “whatever.” Solomon writes, “An idle soul shall suffer hunger,” and “he that despiseth his ways shall die.” “Whatever.”
The unregenerated person cannot understand the things of the Holy Spirit – they are foolishness unto him. He refuses to see the importance of the revelation of God. He rejects the man of God who comes to him with God’s Words. And to the gospel, the unbeliever says, “whatever.” It is a natural part of his lost condition.
And it flows out of his lostness through the corruption of his flesh. “Whatever” is as much a practical thing as it is attitudinal. It is to this practical aspect that Solomon is making reference.
The word “whatever” cannot be found in the Bible. But the words “sluggard,” “slothful” and “lazy” are common. These expose the “whatever” attitude practically – in real time – in real life. And while these are common among teenagers, they are certainly not confined to any one age group.
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:” “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?” Solomon says, “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.”
The “whatever” which lies in the heart exposes itself through the natural corruption of the flesh. There is a laziness which is a part of our DNA. It will take every opportunity to dominate our lives if we let. It takes discipline – sometimes it requires years of training to overcome this fleshly weakness. And in many cases it is never fully overcome – even in the child of God. Paul was forced by this natural tendency to exhort, “Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
It is sad to have to admit, but there is also a theological component to this “whatever.” When a person believes in the sovereignty of God, there can be very good results – and very bad. One of the negative results can be a spiritual laziness when it comes to Christian service. I was reading a biography the other day about a man who believed very strongly in sovereign grace. After quoting the subject and proving his point, the biographer felt forced to say, “but he was not a hyper-calvinist.” He went on to describe the man’s love of souls and his evangelistic efforts to reach those souls. The hyper-calvinist – the extreme calvinist – says “whatever” when it comes to the salvation of the lost. Oh, he will profess a desire for the glory of God, but he still utters, “whatever.” Those \sect plain whom God has chosen will be saved “whatever.” They will be born again whether or not I ever give them the gospel. There are foolish Christians whose lives seem to run in constant neutral – “whatever.” When it comes to growth in his church in his actions he says, “whatever.” In his own spiritual growth and struggles against sin – “whatever.”
But the Christian life and the work of God is contrary to “whatever.” It is – “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” It is – “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Slothfulness has its roots in sin, and its answer is to be found in righteousness.
The Bible describes some of the results of the “whatever” attitude – slothfulness.
“Whatever” is a blight upon society because “the hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.” This “I don’t care” attitude creates slaves. It gives those who DO care, especially if they are wicked, a dictatorial advantage. We see more and more of this in the society around us.
This attitude creates a search for excuses. “The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.” I can’t do what I am commissioned to do, because there is danger, or inconvenience in it.
“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.” When “whatever” is a person’s outlook on life, he will find life harder and harder. His field will fill with weeds and his crops will fail. His road will fill with thorns and his way will be blocked.
“He … that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.” This sort of person will lose the best things in his life. “Whatever” has killed thousands of marriages and lost millions of children. It has robbed nations of good government; it has killed thousands of businesses. And just to be honest, the candle of multitudes of churches have been extinguished by this attitude. “We haven’t seen anyone saved and baptized recently? Whatever. It must be God’s will. “There aren’t any young men entering the ministry any more? Whatever.”
Here we read, “sothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” In chapter 21 we read, when a man’s hand refuses to labour, he will starve. How many Christians and church members are starving spiritually? “Whatever.” “By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Can we justly make an application to the church building and the body of Christ? “Whatever.”
What are the Biblical steps to curing this plague?
The Holy Spirit gives a variety of practical exhortations. The Bible is filled with exhortations like mow the weeds and plant good seeds. “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” The problem with Biblical exhortations is that they already face the “whatever” attitude. Those who need them most are the first to say “whatever.”
The more effective solution is found in a study of the Lord Himself. Jehovah is the antithesis of “whatever.” He has condemned this attitude. And He has promised to bring every one of us into judgment. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” We shall be held accountable for what we have done – accomplished – carried out. He will not be interested in our excuses – “There are lions out there.” He condemned the servant to whom He gave the single talent. “I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.” Doris Day will not be one of the featured entertainers in the throne room of the Lord, singing “Que Sera Sera – Whatever will be will be.”
God created mankind to serve and glorify Him. We are not surprised to find our fallen and lost neighbors unwilling to serve the Lord. But a “whatever” attitude should be foreign to the born again soul. “He that keepeth the commandment keep this own soul.”