Our Sages taught, ‘There are three (types of) people that Hashem cries for daily, and one is a person who could learn Torah and didn’t. Only Hashem knows exactly how much a person can gain from learning Torah, for even the prophets and the angels could not attain this, as it states, ‘No eye can see G-d other than you, nor the reward awaiting those who strive for it’. When Hashem sees how a person wastes the time given to him to achieve such tremendous award, He has terrible anguish, like a father who sees his son ruining his life needlessly. A complete, irretrievable, eternal loss.
One should think about this when sitting with friends exchanging useless stories, or when reading pointless papers, how at that moment his endlessly benevolent Creator is crying in anguish over his dear cherished son who is wasting away, losing his last opportunity to achieve true honor and glory. If a person thinks about these things, he will have no pleasure from such fruitless occupation, and will harness his talents to achieving true pleasure and satisfaction through constant Torah study.28
