There is nothing cheap about hard work, nor of revelling life in the highest form of stoicism. Anything comfortable is a killer, being comfortable is an addiction and Young Americans especially, have been labelled as ‘In Critical Condition’. I’m no exception, just last week I clocked a whopping 8 hours on my phone, 6 of those hours by noon which meant from lifting my eyelids to lunchtime, my neck was craned forward like a tortoise scrolling away. This sort of laziness is of a paticalur kind. There is laziness to finishing on time (procrastination), and laziness as to doing stuff at all (retirement, haha just kidding), but this laziness is of a new unnatural sort. It is the absurd ability to be doing something of such minuscule use to your own self that you not only waste your time under the guise of productive entertainment but you also gain no money, time, true happiness or anything actually beneficial.
This, is a problem.
There are two powerful tactics the devil uses. The first, comfort and ease and the second distraction.
Both are rampant enough in this world it ought to be classified an invasive species. We have beds, couches, rugs, and rich clothes to keep us warm. Stuff of kings. We don’t have to walk anywhere, we can just sit. We don’t have to cook, why waste that time you could spend on Instragram cooking? We don’t have to get up early and take the day on, a 9-5 means waking up at 8:50 is just as good as 4:30. Hell, what’s the use of a job when the rich (which nowadays is those who work) can pay increasingly higher taxes which in turn fund you to eat processed food that could outlast your grandma’s mint condition refrigerator that Indiana Jones hid inside. My point is that comfort is the pure definition of defeat. Hell last for eternity, its full of sulpher and fire, which concludes a constant torture of the lungs, impossible to breath, speak or cry out to God. You’ve tried to hold your breath before, when your brain yells, “BREATH MAN!”, if you live a life of relaxed luxury; 80 years if you’re lucky, forgetting God, then it can be said you’ll spend all eternity in unrest, pure pain and work. Inversely, if you work your tail off until the cows come home for 80 years for God, you’ll get eternity of peace and purity. Now that’s a good investment by golly.
The second of the two tactics is distraction and combined with comfort, it can leads to dangerous amounts of time doing nothing… yet something. This is called social media. We gorge ourselves on endless entertainment, memes, shows, trash movies and conversations. Enthralled in thirst traps and pornography. Lost in 50th Fast and Furious movie. And I’ll give you all one solace, it’s fun to laugh, I find it endearing and it’s good to chuckle once in a while. What happens is over time, your brain becomes dulled by the hours of intake of funny things and it becomes increasingly harder to laugh. Like eating too much of one thing. Numb and sad. I have found entertainment is the easiest way to distract, keep them entertained, ‘keep them distracted and you can do whatever you want’, and it’s true.
So, as the fair few who have stamped their foot down and said, “Oh no Satan, you go no further.” (I say the same to my brother if he approaches me with a towel to whip my sorry soul with), what shall we do to stay away from this dangerous double dealing of comfort and distraction? Keeping the ickabog of idleness away? Well. First, it is absolutely imperative to remember that nothing can be done without the saving grace of Jesus Christ, so believe in him, that’s one thing Lucifer hates. The reason young men are targeted is because we have potential, time, strength, and drive. We are both Satan’s greatest tool and greatest weapon here on earth.
To beat this beast, first is to take control of the flesh. It can never win. The flesh would soon rather become a blob of roiling fat, sitting on a couch than do a push-up. It is greedy, prideful and envious. If you don’t place a collar on that damn thing, it will grow to a thorny gremlin. Control it or it will control you. Once you have your body under proper patrol, take your greatest dreams within your mind. If it can be held in the head, it can be held in the hand. What do you want to be remembered for? Truly? Not something to make you money, or something to help you get the ladies. No, something YOU want. YOU want it. How that makes money come after and if you are doing what you love, women will love you. Pro tip: listen to women and they fall in love. It’s that simple. And then, pull up your britches and just do it. Go for gold. Satan will seethe and hate, hot steam pouring from his ears but there is nothing he can do to a young man dead set on victory of the highest ordeal. Nothing. And that is how you beat him, out work the wicked schemer. Outlast Lucifer. If you can resist and fight back, you will win because Satan has already lost, the best he can do is try his hardest to bring a few men and women with him and the best way is to have us do it to ourselves. Keep us stagnant. Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.
So, to sum. Control your body, work hard, find what gets you up in the morning and put away the sins of this world, putting on the armor of God which is the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of the Gospel, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
Labora usque ad mortem.