The Fine Art of Doing Nothing
05-17-02

Have you ever heard of Bill Fuqua? He is a world record holder. Mr. Fuqua’s world record has nothing to do with speed. It had nothing to do with lifting or jumping. It has nothing to do with collecting things or knowing things. Mr. Fuqua’s world record is for nothing. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for doing nothing. He is known as "The Motionless Man." Fuqua can remain motionless for so long he is often mistaken for a mannequin. He is a popular attraction at shopping malls and amusement parks where passers-by are given $100 if they can make "The Motionless Man" laugh.

Doing nothing is not in God’s plan for man. God intends for man to be productive, both physically and spiritually. Adam was to "tend and keep" the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). The inspired apostle Paul expected Christians to work, and commanded such. He wrote to those in Ephesus, "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need" (Ephesians 4:28 NKJV). He told those in Thessalonica that if one refused to work then he should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). He also wrote to Timothy that the person who refused to provide for his family had denied the faith and was worse than infidel (1 Timothy 5:8).

Man is also to be productive spiritually. Jesus told his disciples, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away . . . " (John 15:2). As Christians we are to take the saving gospel of Christ to others (Mark 16:15, 16). We are created in Christ for good works (Ephesians 2:10). We are expected to be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). God expects Christians to be productive both in the physical life and in their spiritual life.

Bill Fuqua has made a name for himself by doing nothing. Doing nothing may bring you some notoriety but it will not gain you a place in heaven. God expects Christians to work. Fanny Crosby wrote in her hymn, "To the work! To the work! We are servants of God, Let us follow the path that our Master has trod; With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew, Let us do with our might what our hands find to do." Although Bill Fuqua has developed doing nothing to a fine art, this will never do for the child of God. The true Christian must labor in the vineyard of our Lord.