“If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!” Proverbs 20:13 NLT
Sleep. So many people talk about it. It is necessary for us all. Are we getting too little or too much? How much we need is likely a function of physiology and activity. Having a healthy relationship with sleep is necessary for a balanced life. I suppose there are some who love sleep and sleep too much. (Teenagers come to mind.) But beyond the developmental stages of life, the theme in our day is that we just don’t get enough sleep. There are exceptions of course, but among healthy, active, adults there is seldom the concern of getting too much sleep. We are a sleep deprived society. That is, we are sleep deprived according to the technical definition.
Sleep: “a condition of body and mind that typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.” Seems simple, but sleep is terribly complex and often elusive.
Solomon observed: “People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.” Ecclesiastes 5:12 NLT
The rich seldom get a good night’s sleep. Not for lack of desire, but perhaps because of preoccupation with other things.
If our riches are interfering with our sleep, perhaps it is time to evaluate our priorities.
