HOW LONG WILT THOU SLEEP?

We all need sleep. This is one thing all human beings cannot do without. According to researchers from the United States’ National Institute of Health (NIH), Sleep enables the healing and repair of the heart and blood vessels. It helps the brain to function effectively, keeps the immune system in good condition and promotes growth and development in children. Lack of sleep brings with it a barrage of problems, ranging from chronic heart problems obesity (because you eat more and increase the glucose in your blood when you don’t sleep), less productivity, to difficulty in making decisions, controlling of emotions and getting a job done on time no doubt a good night sleep is very important for your physical and mental health. Even God “giveth his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). So sleep is a good thing. But if you oversleep; that is, you're fond of sleeping longer than necessary, then there is a problem! And the way out of this is to either visit the doctor for a medical checkup or to consider taking a course from the ants (6:6-11).

Oversleeping could be a result of many factors. It could be a symptom of a medical condition like hypersomnia (a sleeping disorder that causes people to stop breathing momentarily during sleep, which increases the need for sleep), and several others. Also depression, tiredness and the consumption of some medications can be explanation for why some people oversleep. But not everyone that oversleeps is suffering from a sleeping disorder or affected by some medications. Some people just love to sleep. A television presenter once asked a young man what his hobbies were, and he comfortably name sleeping as a hobby. It is rather sad that a young man who should be up and about, striving to fulfill his potentials and to achieve the goals he has set for himself would indulge himself in too much sleeping. 

According to wikibrains.com, we spend 25 years of our lives sleeping. Constant oversleeping will definitely add a few more years to the figure. Now, add this to the number of years we spend on other frivolous activities. How much time do we have left to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives? How much time do we have to realize our God-given dreams? If sleeping is your hobby, then you’re wasting your life through oversleeping. Many things you could achieve will only remain in your daydreams; they will never become a reality. Aside from the forgoing oversleeping is a symptom of inactivity and laziness, and the imminent result of this kind of oversleeping according to the Holy Scriptures is poverty: “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” (Proverb 6:10-11). Quite a number of health risks, which include diabetes, stroke, heart problems, lower back pain and a host of others, are also associated with oversleeping as a “hobby” or as a result of indolence. 

Many Christian today oversleep because they are sluggards. Instead of working to fend for themselves, their families and others, they make the bed their workplace, while depending on family members, relatives and the church for support. Some don’t just sleep naturally, they also sleep spiritually. They struggle seriously with their prayer life, the study of the Bible and the work of God, and are oblivious of their backslid state. If you have fallen into deep spiritual slumber, the Lord’s warning to you is, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:33).

And if you’re oversleeping both naturally and spiritually due to laziness and your avoidance of work, the Lord is asking: “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?” (Proverbs 6:10-11). When will you get out of bed, or you want to sleep away your life? Sooner or later, everyone, including those supporting you now, will desert you, and you will wallow in hunger, poverty and misery. Get off that bed right now as you’re reading this publication, and find something to do, because you must work with your hands this New Year and earn a living. God bless you as you obey His Word in Jesus’ name.