Q: How can parents help lazy teenagers to improve their work ethic?
A: One of the seven deadly sins identified in the patristic period of the early church is the sin of sloth, more commonly known today as laziness. This can show itself through apathy or through being unwilling to act. The Bible clearly speaks against laziness in many places.
It is important to remember that God created work before the Fall, thus work is good. To fail to work is to be disobedient to God since He commanded in Exodus 20:9, “Six days shall you labor and do all your work…” The apostle Paul endorses working with all one’s heart (Colossians 3:23) and even connects it with having food (II Thessalonians 3:10).
While ultimately laziness is a heart issue, there are some things parents can do to help teens with developing a strong work ethic. First, it is important for parents to connect work to a purpose. J.C. Ryle wrote in The Duties of Parents, “No created being was meant to be idle. Service and work is the appointed portion of every creature of God. Work attached to purpose excites the soul and drives the spirit in its creative powers.” Help your teenager see the purpose of work, its connectedness to their God-given talents, and be careful to also show them the results of work as well as the clear consequences of a life devoted to laziness.
While connecting work to purpose is crucial, it is a wise parent who can also make work fun. Work alongside your teenager and find ways to pair it with things they enjoy. For example, why not wash the car while listening to some favorite music? Why not work with friends doing a mission project to clean up someone’s yard before going to enjoy lunch together?
It is good to remember the words of a wise king, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
Scott Wigginton