The Seven

SLOTH

When we consider deadly sins that give birth to all kinds of ruin & destruction, we probably don’t think of sloth as a vice serious enough to make the cut. Today, sloth evokes images of someone decked out in pajamas, glued to the couch, popping M&Ms with pizza boxes scattered across the room while binging Netflix for days on end. An unhealthy lifestyle to be sure, but a deadly sin?

But in the Christian tradition, sloth refers to something far more dangerous than mere laziness. Sloth describes the numerous ways we shrink from the fullness of life God has called us toward. We shrink from our relationships. We shrink from the God who loves us and from this marvelous — yet often demanding and perplexing — life God has placed before us. When we surrender to sloth, we lose our fire, our boldness. When we are in sloth’s grip, we withdraw from God and God’s world, and from our God-given confidence. And when we withdraw, our vision narrows.

Proverbs 15:19 says, The path of the slothful is a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is an open highway.” Sloth drains our energy and hems us in. But when we courageously cast off sloth’s malaise and turn in trust to God, something shifts. Hope returns, and a renewed vigor begins to seep in. God prods us toward a wide-open future.

When sloth does manifest as laziness, it is a symptom of our increasingly wilting soul. Trapped in the quagmire of idleness, we feel helpless to embrace our life, act upon any deep truth, or pursue God with any conviction or fervor. And yet, laziness, we discover, is only one way we shrink from our life. Some ancient believers used the word acedia rather than sloth. The word acedia was used to describe the multitude of ways we allow God’s energy to drain from us, the ways we become numb to God and stop being attentive to the invitation live out of the energy of God’s love. Sloth has more to do with being lazy about love than being lazy about work.

When sloth appears as acedia, it can take the shape of lethargy, a listless sadness. We no longer see the joy in God, in our good life, in those we love, in this wonderful world. We shouldn’t confuse sloth with biological depression. While there may be overlap in symptoms, and each may have both physical and spiritual components, they are not identical and we need to be wise about when to seek help — when we need to talk to a doctor or a therapist. However, if what we’re dealing with is sloth, then it means we’re surrendering ourselves to hopelessness and futility rather than to “the God of hope” who infuses us “with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Sloth robs us of hope; but God gives hope by the bucketful.

Ironically, sloth’s modern disguise is often the exact opposite of laziness. Sloth can be seen in distraction and busyness that make us unable to be fully present to our life and to pay attention to the many gifts God has placed right in front of us. When acedia reveals itself in restlessness or boredom, we may shrink from our life — not with lethargy but with excessive activity. In my experience, I’ve learned that when I spend a disproportionate amount of time on social media or let go of boundaries between family time and work time, it’s a signal that something’s amiss. Usually, I’m clicking the TV remote or working too late in my office because I’m actually avoiding something, or trying to drum up excitement to overcome my sense of emptiness or lethargy.

Sloth makes us dissatisfied with the people God has placed in our life and tired of the tasks and responsibilities God has put before us. Frustrated and bored, we are always looking for something new — a new place, a new relationship, a new job, a new diversion. In contrast to this mindset, God always pulls us more deeply into the life right in front of us. Unfortunately, when we recognize we’re bogged down in lethargy and despair, we’re prone to heap shame upon ourselves, which is a tragedy because what these temptations to sloth actually reveal are opportunities for healing. Our sloth points us to specific, immediate places where we are desperate to be touched by God’s love.

I once endured a long season (over a year) of sadness that drained my vitality and my hope. I felt useless to my family, to God, to my work. I was also restless, grasping for distractions. I could not pull myself together; and I despised myself for that. Though it came slowly, healing occurred when I simply became curious about why I felt so empty or so desperate, why I felt so disconnected to God’s kindness and mercy. I began to recognize how hungry I was for God’s love to touch me; and in time, this love renewed my hungry heart.

Question:     Where are you experiencing laziness or lethargy or an unhealthy restlessness? Do you sense God inviting you more deeply into your life in any of these places?

Practice:     Engagement.     If sloth means shrinking from our life, then to counter sloth, we want to step more boldly into our life. Identify one person, pursuit, or skill that you believe God has placed in your path — but you’ve been tempted to ignore. For an extended period of time, give yourself to nurturing that relationship or pursuing that passion. Don’t worry about results. Simply be faithful, and watch for God’s joy to meet you right in the midst of your effort.