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Jun 17, 2023 06:00am

The Sin of Sloth

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Drowsiness clothes her in rags.
All day long, she turns on her bed, hands refusing to work.
Neglect colors her chaotic, unordered world.
Distraction has become her master.

Faithfulness in the little things of the day rescues the soul from the sin of sloth. Start small, right where you are, with what you have.
Perfection is not the remedy for sloth, effort is.
A small offering, given to God, is enough to accomplish the miracle.

Am I finishing the work God gave me to do or am I distracted by a whole lot of things God never gave me to do? God is not going to let anybody burn out doing His work. There is always time to do the will of God. There is always strength to do the will of God. None of us can ever use the excuse that we didn’t have time to do the will of God. God has given us exactly the same amount of time. Are we faithful stewards of that time? The habit of sloth is a poison. It permeates your life, it infects your will, and it breeds in you a hatred of exertion. Elisabeth Elliot

God has commanded us to rest, but what happens when we move from rest into the sinful space of sloth? Slothfulness hinders me from accomplishing the work before me, and that is what makes it sin. If I want to be a good and faithful servant, whose life is marked by the growth of fruit, sloth must be crucified. I must put off laziness and put on diligence toward what I have been entrusted with.

What contributes to my sloth?
Pursuing pleasure.
Appetites addicted to lesser things.
Sin-habits that promise life but produce death.
Disordered living reveals sloth.
God will not ask you to do everything today, but He will ask you to do something.

Real-Time Inventory:
Think back over the last hour. What does it reveal about your habits? Was there something needing your attention that you failed to do? If I have spent my time indulging in pleasure, failing to do the work placed before me, then I have walked in disobedience. Just as all obedience brings blessing, all disobedience brings death.

So how do we differentiate between true rest and sloth? Look at the fruit. “Rest” that leads you into a consuming spiral is not true rest, it is a fake designed to wither your soul. True rest revitalizes. Imposter versions of rest create a craving for more of the same. Your body is searching, unsatisfied, and the real rest never comes. Lethargy is the fruit of the fake stuff.

Our bodies are designed to flourish under the care of real rest. The enemy wants to steal this from us by leading us into the sin of sloth that renders us ineffective. When we realize we have fallen into this deadly trap, we must turn to Jesus in prayer and repentance. Our Gentle Shepherd will lead us by still waters, true still waters that satisfy.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23: 1-3