The Seven Deadly Sins
Sin #4
Sloth
...a little sleep, a little slumber.....a little folding of the hands.....
In the time that I have putting off writing this entry - all the way making jokes to my collegues about skipping it all together as an example of true sloth, I have been thinking of it only in the sense of our wordly deeds: work, play, friends, family. How many ways can I bail on it all? Then last night I read two words that made it all clear: apostolic sloth.
As Christians we love the potluck, but hate the cooking. We love to go to a church that is known for serving in its community, but don't show up to serve. We say we will pray for our friends and then turn away and forget.
A friend who calls while you are crying and prays for you right then and there on the phone is a friend. That person, at least at that moment has avoided the sloth that is most dangerous to his soul.
Those who are unbelievers see those signs of apostolic sloth even before the Christians do. They are watching closer - to see if there is a reason to believe - to trust - to listen.
In Keith Green's song he says "the world is sleeping in the dark, and the church just can't fight, cause it's asleep in the light. How tragic is that? Why shouldn't we be seeking to be what Christ is to us? Why do we fill up our schedules with so much worldy stuff that we are too tired or too busy to give to the body of Christ? Have we considered how shameful it would be to arrive in Heaven and for the Father to say "wake up," when all along we could have been awake, and instead be greeted with "welcome, my beloved?"
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Lazy Ass
That's been me. To be honest, I'm a little ashamed of myself. When I joined the shift I'm currently on, I got caught up in this culture of doing a couple hours of work, and then it's lay-about city. Seeing how much I'm getting done now, I can't believe that I let my integrity slip like that.
For those of us in the world of the employed, sloth is exactly that, and integrity issue. By not working my full eight hours, I was stealing from my employer. And you know what, next time I wanted something from them, I still would've been pissed if I didn't get it.
Proverbs 22:13 tells us, "The lazy man says, 'There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!'" (NKJV). That's what I did. I made excuses. My basic job was done, and I was going to school full time. I had a right to take it easy. And then I'd complain when my coworkers were slacking.
Of course, I feel better now that I've straightened up a bit. I'm giving what I'm worth, and I know the jobs of those around me will be easier because of what I do. It's a relief knowing that you don't have to worry about what others are thinking about you. Now if I can just apply that attitude toward blogging...
For those of us in the world of the employed, sloth is exactly that, and integrity issue. By not working my full eight hours, I was stealing from my employer. And you know what, next time I wanted something from them, I still would've been pissed if I didn't get it.
Proverbs 22:13 tells us, "The lazy man says, 'There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!'" (NKJV). That's what I did. I made excuses. My basic job was done, and I was going to school full time. I had a right to take it easy. And then I'd complain when my coworkers were slacking.
Of course, I feel better now that I've straightened up a bit. I'm giving what I'm worth, and I know the jobs of those around me will be easier because of what I do. It's a relief knowing that you don't have to worry about what others are thinking about you. Now if I can just apply that attitude toward blogging...
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Acedia
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
So shall your poverty come like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
The common perception of sloth, or laziness, is an active avoidance of that which is physically strenuous. I wonder though, how many of us make it a point to be lazy? Do we have the backbone to petulantly shake our fist at the world and say "This I will not do, no matter the need!"? Genereally, no. We lack the wherewithall to do even that. So, we blame it on others.
We lay the blame at the feet of others, of our "schedules", of a universe aligned against us and the clocks we run our lives by. We blame our jobs, the ubiquitous "Honey-Do" list, and all manner of things, but it seems we cannot take our own selves in hand and get the job done. Somehow we all seem to talk so big of "Living our lives for no man but ourselves..." but as soon as it is convenient, we foist the blame for our own shortcoming, our own faults, our own failures on someone else. So much for being the master of our own destiny eh?
It is far past time for us to stop confusing motion for action, activity for productivity and words for actions. It is time to quit using others, and more importaintly our poor choices, as excuses for not doing what we say we will. Our days are numbered, and its not a very large number. Let us not get to our own "End of days" and not have done the things of value we had said we would.
When we are young
Wandering the face of the earth
Wondering what our dreams might be worth
Learning that were only immortal --
For a limited time
A little folding of the hands to rest;
So shall your poverty come like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
The common perception of sloth, or laziness, is an active avoidance of that which is physically strenuous. I wonder though, how many of us make it a point to be lazy? Do we have the backbone to petulantly shake our fist at the world and say "This I will not do, no matter the need!"? Genereally, no. We lack the wherewithall to do even that. So, we blame it on others.
We lay the blame at the feet of others, of our "schedules", of a universe aligned against us and the clocks we run our lives by. We blame our jobs, the ubiquitous "Honey-Do" list, and all manner of things, but it seems we cannot take our own selves in hand and get the job done. Somehow we all seem to talk so big of "Living our lives for no man but ourselves..." but as soon as it is convenient, we foist the blame for our own shortcoming, our own faults, our own failures on someone else. So much for being the master of our own destiny eh?
It is far past time for us to stop confusing motion for action, activity for productivity and words for actions. It is time to quit using others, and more importaintly our poor choices, as excuses for not doing what we say we will. Our days are numbered, and its not a very large number. Let us not get to our own "End of days" and not have done the things of value we had said we would.
When we are young
Wandering the face of the earth
Wondering what our dreams might be worth
Learning that were only immortal --
For a limited time
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