Paul Johnson described Luther’s work ethic in “A History of Christianity”. Johnson wrote:
“Luther was not so much an intellect as a great force. A great spiritual force in fact. Perhaps the most striking thing about him was his power of prayer, a relic of his training in a good monastery. He liked to spend three hours a day at prayer, with his hands clasped, at an open window.  From 1517 when he first began to write, he averaged a book every fortnight, over a hundred volumes by his death. The initial thirty writings, 1517-1520, reached a third of a million copies.  His major tracts went into scores of editions.” [p.282]

University of California scholar, William Bousma wrote a biography of Calvin.  Bousma states that Calvin thought, “A human being who does not work is like a “a block of useless wood.” Calvin detested idleness.  As well, Calvin, often sick, would have his students actually carry him into his classes on his sick bed when he could not actually walk himself into the classroom. Calvin insisted on working ceaselessly. He was working on a Commentary on Ezekiel 22 when he died. In fact, he died writing in the middle of a sentence.

Biographer John Pollack wrote two different books on the life of Billy Graham. He also wrote on the life of John Wesley titled, “Wesley the Preacher”. Pollack quotes Wesley, “Be active, be diligent” Wesley would urge. “Avoid all laziness, sloth, indolence. Fly from every degree, every appearance of it; else you will never be more than half a Christian.”

These three saints summarize what Solomon wrote centuries ago, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands and want will come upon you like an armed man”.