The Sin and Virtue Series, #4 of 8

Proverbs 26:14 – As a door turns on its hinges,

so does a lazy person in bed.

2 Peter 2:10 – ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.

Today we continue with our series on The 7 Deadly Sins and Their Corresponding Virtues. We have already looked at Pride and Humility, Envy and Kindness, and Gluttony and Temperance. Today we tackle a couple of terms that just aren't used in Modern American English very often – Sloth and Diligence.

Let's begin with the least common word, SLOTH. As you can see in the inset, two other words: Acedia and Apathy. Apathy is a word understood by most people. In addition to Apathy, here are some other words that are used in place of Sloth: Laziness, idleness, sluggishness, indolence, indifference, disinterest, unconcerned, lackadaisical, a "disinclination to action or effort." You also see the word Acedia there. Acedia is apathy (and all those other words) with regard to religious matters. It is the kind of "I couldn't possibly care less" attitude that pervades our society in so many ways.

Diligence – or being diligent – on the other hand is a word we use more often. Some synonyms for Diligence or diligent are ardent, hard-working, industrious, assiduous, conscientious, thorough, attentive, engaged, careful, earnest, sincere, heartfelt, highly-motivated, tireless, indefatigable, and inspired.

As you run those words through your mind, perhaps you think about the people around you – family, friends, coworkers, people in the grocery store, or even people in your church. Do some of those people seem to be lazy while others seem to be energetic? What do you think influences people to be actively involved and responsible or passively unresponsive and irresponsible? Is it perhaps a choice to be one or the other?

Yes, most of the time it is a choice. There are, of course, times when we are inactive and unresponsive without choosing to be so; clinical depression is one example. Folks who don't understand or have never experienced depression can't really relate to how debilitating it is; or how mentally, physically, and spiritually painful it can be. But most of the time this blatant indifference is a chosen state of mind. It's just too much trouble to give a hoot. Choosing that position is denying the ability to be in community with others, to be a contributor to the common good, and to live out God's purpose for us – to be productive contributors rather than destructive parasites. To live in community as God is community – Three Persons, One God. But there is more.

This kind of Apathy in life fosters apathy in our relationships with God and with each other. One of the English words used in the context of Sloth is sluggard. The Hebrew word for that is atsel {aw-tsale'} and the root word means sluggish or lazy. In Proverbs 6:6, the writer says – Go to the ant, you lazybones [sluggard]; consider its ways, and be wise. The implication there is that the lazy-bones sluggard has the capacity to choose between being lazy or being industrious. The sluggard will not get off her/his recliner or out of her/his bed to get up and do something. There are always excuses. One such excuse typifies how irrational those excuses can be sometimes. Again, we turn to Proverbs for an example: Proverbs 22:13 - The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” You and I (and other diligent persons) will say, "Really?", probably accompanied with an eye-roll. Being a sluggard is a bit like being a liar. There are so many details to keep up with, and the more outlandish the stance, the harder it is to keep that stance steady. As Mark Twain quipped, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Another famous excuse is, "I don't have time for that." There are two answers I usually offer for that objection: "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it over?" and "If you don't have time to do something that's good for you, why do you have time to do things that are bad for you?" In all these excuses of the sluggard, there is clearly the promise of choice.

Choice is the kernel of Free Will. We are allowed to choose. Throughout scripture – and in every positive-focused (as opposed to, say, Satanic) religion I can think of, one is encourage to make the choice that benefits others at least as much as it benefits self. The Golden Rule is the measure of our diligence. While Sloth inhibits and even prevents virtuous conduct as something opposed to self-interest, diligence fosters – in fact demands – conduct that is unselfish and seeks to serve others. Even in the Parable of the Talents (See Matthew 25:14-30), the man who takes his one talent and hides it is referred to as "You lazy and wicked servant." The other two servants were praised for being diligent about investing their master's money and earning a profit. The diligent person is willing to put forth the effort to do or obtain something good. In spiritual terms, this is someone who is not bored by religion, not impeded by religious obligations, and not too lazy to get up and join the community in worship and praise. When we are diligent we will – at the very least – fulfill all our required duties and then strive to do even more. It's not that we strive to be workaholics – because that is a misapplication of "due diligence" – but rather it is that we choose to strike a balance between doing what is communally necessary and doing what is personally gratifying. Being diligent can of course be very gratifying, but sometimes we overdo the personal gratification bit and fail to have the time or energy to do what is best and most pleasing for God and helpful for neighbor.

The sluggard will stay home and watch sports rather than go to church. The go-getter will record the game and go to church. The sluggard finds the Ten Commandments annoying and restrictive. The go-getter finds them admirable and liberating. The sluggard plants a new lawn and complains that the seeds never sprouted – despite not watering, fertilizing, and protecting it. The go-getter spreads the seeds carefully, nurtures them gently, and enjoys the pleasures of that labor. The sluggard decides there no point to praying because God doesn't listen to him anyway when he says, "God, you need to fix this." The go-getter prays, "God, I want to help you make this better." The sluggard gives in to her/his unwillingness to act, to pray, to serve, or to love. The go-getter is strongly inclined to do all these things and more to help "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly" with God and neighbor (See Micah 6:8)

Proverbs 15:19 – The way of the lazy is overgrown with thorns,
but the path of the upright is a level highway.

Romans 12:11 – ¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.

The sin of Sloth leads to dissatisfaction and bitterness; it feeds on resentment and in turn nurtures grudges (Remember, grudges are heavy and hard to carry because they have no handles). The Virtue of Diligence leads to leads to Joy and the other Fruit of the Holy Spirit; it feeds on love and in turn nurtures goodwill. The choice is up to each of us.

"¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19) " ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble." (2 Peter 1:10) Unlike the sluggard who never moves so he will not stumble, you will move freely and be helping the hand of God.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

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Originally posted in Aloha Friday Messages at http://www.aloha-friday.org