How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? – Proverbs 6:9

Today's Scripture Reading (December 18, 2025): Proverbs 6

There is a theory surrounding World War II that argues that Hitler always wanted a war with Britain. Hitler was a man who respected Britain, yet he knew that to accomplish his goals, he would have to defeat Britain on the battlefield. Hitler also believed that if everything had been equal during the First World War, Germany would have won that conflict. The only reason Germany lost the war was that its friends betrayed it. Germany should have won the Great War, and Hitler was sure it would win the conflict that followed.

The plan was to goad Britain into the fight and then sweep through France, for which Hitler felt no respect. So, Hitler set out to goad Britain to declare war, but Britain, through its Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, refused to take the Commonwealth of Nations into war. Chamberlain was convinced that the people who elected him to office were against war. And so, Hitler continued to expand Germany's presence by declaring war against the neighboring nations. The German move that proved too far for Chamberlain and the ruling Conservatives in Britain was Germany's invasion of Poland. Britain had a treaty with Poland, and Chamberlain had decided that the violation of Poland's borders would be a red line. When Hitler moved his troops into Poland, Chamberlain immediately issued a letter to Germany to leave Poland, or he would have no option but to declare war one more time on the German nation. Of course, since Hitler felt that war with Britain was unavoidable, the sooner they started, the sooner Britain could be defeated. Then Germany could complete its vision of restoring the Holy Roman Empire in Europe.

Germany did not get out of Poland, and on September 3, 1939, Neville Chamberlain informed Britain and the Commonwealth that they were at war with Germany – kind of. Chamberlain was still convinced that a shooting war was unnecessary. He believed that Germany could be brought to its knees economically through a blockade. What followed journalists called "The Bore War" before they finally settled on "The Phoney War."

There were some in Britain, and probably Hitler in Germany, who wanted to know how long Britain would sleep. Winston Churchill would sweep into power and begin to ask the United States the same question. How long will you sleep before you do what is right? How long will you let immorality reign? Proverbs insists that the longer we are trapped by inaction, the poorer we will be. There is a time to act, to wipe the sleep from our eyes and get to the task that is set before us. I don't want this to sound too easy, because it isn't. And the temptation to remain inactive just a little longer will always be there. But if it is right and moral, then we need to set ourselves against the task and, in the process, make this world a better place.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Proverbs 7