Proverbs 6.6-11

There’s an animal called the sloth. It’s a mammal that lives mostly in trees and feeds mainly on leaves. It sleeps, eats, travels, and even gives birth, while hanging upside down. Sloths move only when they have to, and when they do, it’s normally very slowly. Amazingly, infant sloths hang onto their mother’s fur, but sometimes they fall off. Because of the way sloths are built, they rarely die from the fall. However, sometimes the mothers refuse to leave the trees to retrieve their offspring! Sloths are a great example of slothfulness. (Click here to learn more.)

Sloth, a sin?!
We’ve been talking about deadly sins. Of all the sins listed among the seven deadly sins, perhaps the sin that would get the most argument is sloth. Is sloth sin? And is it really a deadly sin?

Sloth/Laziness
M. Scott Peck believes that laziness is a major cause of evil and primary source of psychological illness. And Dunnam & Reisman say, “Laziness is a sin because it poisons the will.”

Now we’re not talking about restfulness or even idleness. We all need rest. In fact, “sabbath” means “to cease.” We all need to build rest in to the rhythm of our lives. Sloth, or laziness, isn’t about getting necessary rest; it’s about not caring; it’s about apathy.

George Bernard Shaw once stated that the epitaph of many people could read: “Died at 30; buried at 60.” It’s obvious some people have checked out while they’re still alive. Ouch!

3 Forms of Sloth …

• Mental Sloth (too lazy to think, read, or to enter dialogue)
• Moral Sloth (complain about the state of things but don’t do anything about it)
• Spiritual Sloth (neglecting spiritual disciplines)

Well, let’s talk about ways to stay on task and avoid laziness from creeping into our lives.

7 Keywords for overcoming sloth …

Complacency
Guard against complacency. I’ve long believed that complacency is the biggest enemy of the Christian journey and the Church. It’s when we’re complacent (i.e. satisfied, lukewarm) that we’re in the most trouble. We’re in trouble and don’t know it, or we don’t care!

Responsibility
Take responsibility for your life. Don’t blame others. There may be situations we cannot control, but we can do something!

“Under God’s guidance and with God’s support, we are to choose direction, take control, and, by the decisions and disciplines of our will, determine where we go.” (Dunnam & Reisman)

Honor
Honor God. Live for God’s glory in everything you do!

Calling
Live in response to God’s call. A moment ago, I mentioned the epitaph, “Dead at 30; buried at 60.” That’s a bad epitaph. The one I’d like is what was said about David: David “served his generation according to the will of God, he died and was buried” (Acts 13.36). That’s how I want to live — serving according to God’s will, God’s purpose, in my generation!

Focus
Put first things first!

“(God) will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” (Matthew 6.33)

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3.13-14)

Rule
Everyone needs to have a “rule of life.” A rule of life is a compass which orients your life. For John Wesley, his rule of life was the means of grace. He distinguished two type of acts:

• Instituted means of grace (prayer, scripture, communion, fasting, Christian conferencing)
• Prudential means of grace (doing no harm; doing good)

Love
Love others as commanded by Christ. Jesus challenged us, “I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends” (John 15.12-13).

“Unfortunately, most of us think love is something we feel rather than something we do. … Love requires decision; it’s a matter of the will.” (Dunnam & Reisman)

“Love is the essence of the Gospel and is the crown jewel of Christian character. In common thought, hate is the opposite of love. But … the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy.” (Dunnam & Reisman)

Love is the essence of the Gospel. It’s critical to our mission in the world. Just read Matthew 25.31-45.

Slothful, lazy people, do not care enough about others to act. Lazy people are apathtic, meaning they have no passion for life, or ultimately for God!

“We want Christ, but only moderately: we love Jesus, but only moderately; we will follow Jesus, but only so far. To claim to be a Christian without wanting Christ more than anything else, is a contradiction.” (Donald Shelby)

O God, we want to serve this generation according to your will. We want to fulfill your purpose for us, and we want to help others experience and follow you, too. Help us to not just be busybodies, though, doing all kinds of different things. Help us to be focused people, doing what you call and gift us to do. And for those who may be complacent, shake them out of their complacency. Do whatever you must do to get their attention so that no one will be lulled to sleep. Amen.

Joleen’s sermon on sloth.

Greeting
My name is Joleen and I am a sinner. (response: “My name is ______ and I am a sinner.)

Is that statement more of a reality than when we first started this series? We are looking at the 7 Deadly Sins, not so we can identify them in the lives of others, but so we can examine our lives and see where we, who have been justified (saved, forgiven of our sins), are still in need and will always be in need of God’s grace. It is my hope that this series will produce in us a greater humility and dependence upon God and the grace that is offered to us through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. And that we will know the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, given so that we can overcome the grip of sin in our lives.

Proverbs 6.6-11

We will look at the basic definition and then expand our understanding of sloth today. We will look at the question, "Are we doing the right things?"

Laziness
Webster: disinclination to action or labor
In other words, inactivity. Doesn’t get a job. Make no contribution to society. Take but never give back. Couch potato.

The animal: slow, hangs upside down all it’s life, eats upside down, gives birth upside down. It hangs upside down from the tree and it’s babies hang upside down from the mamma. Sometimes a baby will fall and may not die from the fall, but it dies because the sloth is too slothful to go down and get it and lets it lay there and die.

Sloth is not: knowing how to take care of ourselves; we are not a machine (workaholic), enjoy and develop relationships with family and friends. It is not knowing how to observe the Sabbath. There needs to balance.

Now let’s expand our defintion.

Lack of care for others
Lack of love – we are too lazy to work at relationships. A relationship is dying, a marriage is on the edge – our society thinks it’s easier to can the relationship and find a new one; get a divorce and get married again.

Doesn’t take responsibility. Dead-beat dads.
Children grow up undisciplined because parents are too lazy to do the hard work.
Family members caring for one another.

A sign that we are slothful is being "overly protective of resources of time and energy."

Moral sloth we complain about social and moral evil—racism, welfare, abortion, prison reform, violence, drug abuse—but we don’t do anything.

We get bombarded by so much. And we know we can’t do everything, but that is not excuse to do nothing. Again, "Are we doing the right things?" And there is a danger when we hear so much to become apathetic – we just stop feeling anything.

Complacency
Complacency can touch many areas of our lives: woes of society, family situations, relationships, work, education, bettering of ourselves.

Questions to consider: Where do I see complacency in my life? Where have I stopped growing? Where have I stopped caring?

Spiritual sloth
Complacency can also set into our spiritual life.

Webster 1.b. spiritual apathy and inactivity <the deadly sin of sloth>

“We want Christ, but only moderately; we love Jesus, but only moderately; we will follow Jesus, but only so far. To claim to be a Christian without wanting Christ more than anything else, is a contradiction.” –Donald J. Shelby, from his sermon, “Wanting It Enough”

John 15.1-5 "Abide in me"
Jesus is the "true vine" and we are the branches. We must stay connected to our life source.

But, spiritual sloth says that we are too lazy to spend time with God. Too lazy to pursue God. To press in. We are cut off the very source of life and the refreshment and renewal our parched souls desire.

Have you ever been really thirsty? You haven’t had anything to drink for a few hours and when you have the opportunity and the choice of water or coffee, you go for the coffee? You know it’s not going to satisfy your thirst, but it smells so good. I’ve done that. And I imagine we all have done that with our spiritual lives. We turn on the tv instead of popping in a good Christian music CD. We jump into housework or some other busy activity instead of opening our Bible. We have this desire to phone a particular person and see how they’re doing, but we get sidetracked on the way to the phone.

Sloth is the “hatred of all spiritual things which entail effort.” -Henry Fairlie

Psalm 107.4-5, 10-12, 26-27 (Our thirst)
Psalm 104.10-13 (Quenching our thirst)

Lack of spiritual direction
Finally an answer to the question, "Are we doing the right things?" We can be busy doing the wrong things. As individuals and as the Church.

“We know we can’t do everything, so God what do you want us to do? God I give you this day.”

A wise person once said, A wise person once said, you have enough time to do what God has for you to do. (Yes there seasons when we go through overly busy times, but we should not live our whole lives in this manner.)

Put first things first; put God first and he will direct. Spending time with God in prayer and scripture, so that we can find direction. So that he can guide us. So that we can listen to his voice.

This week
A plan to grow in grace through Wesley’s Means of Grace: the Works of Piety (Spiritual Disciplines) and the Works of Mercy (ministry or service). See GBGM links for more information.
With each listed, determine how often (daily, weekly, monthly) you will practice / How you will practice (when, where, with who, etc.)

Works of Piety
Prayer
Searching the Scriptures
Holy Communion
Fasting
Christian Community
Healthy Living

Works of Mercy
Doing Good (Visiting the Sick and Prisoners, Feeding and Clothing People, Earning, Saving, Giving All One Can, Opposition to Slavery)