The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who can answer sensibly. (Proverbs 26:16)
Lazy people are usually experts in everything. You would think it would be the exact opposite. They can’t finish what they start. They constantly make excuses. You would think that they would know they lack knowledge. But instead they think they are quite intelligent and look down on others, even people smarter than them.
Why is this? It’s hard to say, but here is one thought: it actually is their perceived intelligence that makes them lazy. They would rather preserve their identity as intelligent people than to put their knowledge to action and find that it may be deficient. It’s better to preserve intelligence than to test it out in the real world.
Whenever we self-identify as having a lot of intelligence we will feel like we have to prove it. And it’s better to not try and simply think ourselves intelligent than to risk and see ourselves for who we really are.
I’ve had this idea for a while now that everyone will come flocking to my door for wise counsel. Strangely enough, it hasn’t happened. Something must be wrong with them…
But in all seriousness, I know a guy who once thought he was the smartest person in the world. Really. Funny thing is, he never worked, played video games all day, and didn’t have any friends. I wonder what’s up with him now. . .