Idleness is something that God dislikes. It is the state of being lazy, inactive and without motion. Worse, it is also the state of being superficial, pointless and purpose-less – something that God didn't create you for.
Idleness opens up various doors of opportunity for the devil to enter. "An idle mind is the devil's playground," goes a saying, and it could never be truer than that.
Paul warned the young Timothy of the effects of idleness in 1 Timothy 5:13. Although he was talking about younger widows in context, Paul specifically mentioned that idleness turn individuals into "busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to." Idleness in the New Testament is often associated with disruptiveness (see 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thess. 3:6, 11) and unwillingness to work for an honest living (see 2 Thess. 3:10-12), both of which should not be named in a Christ-follower.
Idle people can never line themselves up with the will of God for their lives. Knowing God's will requires deliberate effort, and obeying God's will requires even more effort. Busybodies who throw themselves into meaningless pursuits will never be able fulfill the will of God in their lives.
So how do we keep ourselves away from idleness? Here are a few things you must do.
1) Listen to the warnings given by the Bible
There are a lot of warnings about idle hands and idle talk. Idle hands bring hunger (Proverbs 19:15), cause house and family problems (Ecclesiastes 10:18) and virtually no chance for success (Eccl. 11:6).
Idle talk, on the other hand, is disruptive, slanderous (see 1 Tim. 5:14), and will be judged (Matthew 12:34-37).
2) Remember your God-given purpose
Since idleness is being without purpose, having a purpose and pursuing it will greatly help in driving idleness away from shipwrecking our faith.
Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom's instruction."
You have to plead with the Lord to give you a reason or purpose, a vision for your life that's bigger than yourself. Only then will you find a reason to stop being idle.
3) Remember that you are not your own
As Christians who were given salvation, forgiveness and life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ; we must realise that we are not our own anymore. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price."
This simply means we don't even have the right to waste our time and life on meaningless pursuits. Rather, we are admonished to "honour God with [our] bodies," giving all that we are for His purposes and pleasure.
