13 January 2010 (Revee/Shavu'ot)
Motivational
Deficiency Disorder
An Excuse for Laziness
It will, in my opinion, be simply a matter of time before the secular world reclassifies every sin as either something perfectly ordinary and acceptable or turns to psychiatry to invent some 'mental sickness' to explain it away and absolve sinners of any responsibility for their actions. You've all come across this - criminals are getting away with reduced sentences or no sentence at all on the grounds of 'diminished responsibility' or 'temporary insanity'. I had heard of Attention Deficiency Syndrome (ADS) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a teacher, which in children largely stems from eating too much unrefined sugar, and so is chemical in origin and not 'psychological'. But never in my wildest imagination could I have predicted that laziness would one day come to be excused as a medical condition that's now called 'Motivational Deficiency Disorder' (MDD). It certainly has a dignified ring to it, doesn't it?
"The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich" (Prov.13:4, NKJV).
The Bible clearly states that the difference between a lazy and a diligent man is the the former just thinks about doing something whereas the latter makes a choice and does it. This is, of course, something that has to be taught children as they grow up. The main reason adults are lazy is because nothing was expected of them as youngsters and so they have been allowed to condition themselves into inactivity. It's not because they have some illness that needs 'treating' by psychiatrists. All a lazy person needs is an ultimatum followed by a boot in the rump if he refuses to respond. The issue is one of will:
"The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labour" (Prov.21:25, NKJV).
The Bible's remedy is simple:
"If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thess.3:10, NKJV).
I think that's a pretty good 'motivator' for someone 'suffering' from 'MDD'. All they need is a wake-up call:
"Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger" (Prov.19:15, NKJV).
But the Australians will have none of this. Instead their brightest sparks are baffled that one in five of their citizens suffers from this terrible ailment. Neurologist Leth Argnos bewails:
Now I am not of course deriding those who have actual medical conditions that make them weary and lacking in energy for which there is usually treatment. As someone who suffers from accute fibromyalgia, I am truly sympathetic. I am limited by the amount of energy I have and therefore what I can physically do. And, yes, I have my trials and tribulations of a non-physical nature caused by the unkindness and cruelty of others too, like the next man, but I don't allow myself to indulge in a pity-party. I choose to refuse to be lazy brcause I subscribe to the Protestant Work Ethic, which is biblical. We all have the choice to be busy or lazy with the resources we have. Nobody has to give up.
But the politically-correct psychiatrists will have nothing to do with this. For them, to accuse someone of being lazy, is to condemn a human being, which is unforgivable, because we're all too weak and fragile to 'take it'. In their book, we must neither criticise nor condemn. And no doubt he would point the same accusatory finger at God too. Why? Because this supposedly destroys a person's 'self-esteem'.
The problem with mankind is not a lack of self-esteem but a lack of God, order, discipline and accountability. We should never be afraid of work - ever. We can agree with Bismarck who, speaking of his own countrymen, declared:
"We Germans fear God and nothing else in the world ... and it is the fear of God that makes us love and strive for peace".
Words of wisdom and words of truth that every nation should implement. But we'll examine the issue of self-esteem tomorrow.
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