Sloth

Happy Sunday. Some of you are listening to this by podcast on various platforms, and others are watching on YouTube. I want to thank you for your continued support. You can go to my website, davidshivers.com, and there you can find over a hundred sermons from weeks past. It would help a great deal if you would like or subscribe or share these messages, and I truly appreciate it.

Today we're going to start a series on the seven deadly sins, and today we will look at sloth. In the weeks ahead we will look at lust, anger, Pride, Envy, gluttony, and greed. This list has been around for hundreds of years, perhaps as far back as the 6th century. It may surprise you that number one on the list is sloth, or laziness.

The Bible has a great deal to say about sloth. You'll find these words in Proverbs Chapter 6, verses 6 through 11. "Make a lesson from the ants, you lazy bones. Learn from their ways and become wise. Though they have no prints or Governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, Gathering food for the winter. But you, you lazy bones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more Slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."

We find more about this problem in Proverbs chapter 24, beginning at verse 30. "I walked by the field of a lazy person, The Vineyard of one who hath no common sense. I saw that it was overgrown with Nettles. It was covered with weeds. Its walls were broken down." Quite a picture is being painted, isn't it, the basalt? The proverb continues: "Then I looked and thought about it. I learned this lesson: a little extra sleep, a little more Slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit, in scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."

These two sections of Proverbs are quite motivational. As we continue, let me share with you the best definition of sloth that I have ever found. I've had this for years. I have no idea where it came from, but this definition goes: sloth is the Demonic tendency to remain where we are, where we ought to be moving on to do those things which we know will provide deliverance from the pain of our existence.

I often hear people talking about our society and the consequences of sloth. Many employers say that it's hard to find willing workers. I have a friend who owned a restaurant, and he went out of business. One of his biggest problems was Finding labor. Sadly, many would rather steal or rely on handouts than work. Sloth yields bitter fruit.

The most dangerous type of sloth is spiritual sloth. In Matthew chapter 25 we read of the Judgment of all people. In the story, we're separated like sheep from goats. One group, The Sheep, are blessed to live eternally with God, and the other group, the goats, are Cast Away to hell.

We're told that the Sheep were known to God because they did things. They fed the hungry, they clothed the poor, they visited the sick, they visited the lonely, and they were rewarded because their faith was always bearing fruit. The group known as the goats were cast to hell because they did nothing. "I was hungry, you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, you didn't give me drink. I was a stranger, you didn't welcome me." Remember those words: doing nothing can have horrid consequences.

In the first part of that same chapter, Matthew 25, we find another story of the consequences of sloth. As the parable goal goes, a wealthy landowner is preparing for a long journey. Before he leaves, he costs three of his workers to gather together, and he gives them money to manage in his absence. To one, we're told, he gave five bags of silver; to another he gave two bags; and to the third he gave one bag.

The first servant invested his five bags and doubled it. He made five more; he had ten. The second servant did the same; he doubled his master's money. We're told that the third servant did nothing. He buried the money in the ground, and when the boss returned, the first two workers were rewarded. The third was chastised, and he was thrown out. Once again, scriptures filled with warnings about the danger of sloth.

Years ago I had a man come to my office with a note from his wife. He wanted me to read it. She had left him, and he wanted me to fix it. As it turned out, he drank a case of beer every day, and she told him that he needed to stop. He didn't. He wouldn't. He told me that her demands were too much. He loved his beer.

I asked him if he loved his wife more than he loved his beer, and would he be willing to change, and he said no, it was just too much work. He was too lazy to save his marriage. It happens all the time.

Just this past week there was a story on the news about hundreds of teenagers wreaking havoc in Chicago, running wild. One of the victims interviewed on the news made a good point. They wanted to know about the parents. "Where are the parents?" they asked. Sadly, our world suffers because some parents are just too lazy to actively raise their children. Once again, sloth ruins whatever it touches.

Let me ask you this: have you ever been too lazy to pray? James chapter 4 tells us "we have not because we ask not." I'm convinced our world would be much better if we as Christians prayed more than we complained. The last verse of James 4 says this: "It is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not to do it."

Is there a cure for sloth? Absolutely there is. The Cure is Zeal, dedication, commitment, obedience, things this world is short of and needs more of. Let me end with these words from Colossians 3 23. There we are told, "Whatever you do, do it hardly, as to the Lord and not to men." Those are great words. Whatever you do, do it for God. What a much better world this would be if we all followed that command.

Pray with me. Lord, help us to be about our father's business. Help us to have Zeal and what we do. Father, this world needs good examples; let us be just that. Help us to never be too lazy to pray and to be with you. In Jesus name, amen. God bless. Thanks for joining me today.