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LOST RIVER CHURCH OF CHRIST | |||||||
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Seven Deadly Sins: Slothby Lawrence Kelley
In the sixth century Gregory the Great produced a list of seven cardinal vices. Though such classifications, if misunderstood, can result in some troubling conclusions, the quest to find a pattern in scripture that helps us understand a wide range of disobedience is quite helpful. As we work our way through these we should understand that each one represents an area of temptation that is almost universally experienced by humankind and that if allowed to take root will most certainly destroy our souls. The seven deadly sins are, in their traditional order: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. However, we will take them in a different order, beginning with sloth. The sluggard is someone most of us can identify with. Perhaps not to the extent described in some proverbs, but nevertheless we can see ourselves in these colorful caricatures. In Prov. 26:13-16 we are given a description of the lazy man. He is: full of excuses for not working - There is a lion in the street (v. 13). master of kicking back, hanging out & resting up - he is hinged to his bed (v 14). unwilling to finish what he starts - buries his hand in his bowl, but cannot lift it to his mouth (v. 15). quick to find an explanation for why he is in the shape he's in - wise in his own eyes (v. 16). God has made the world in such a way as to give the lazy man a rough time of it. We sow what we reap, or in the case of the sluggard, if we don't sow, we won't reap and in some cases the eyes of the industrious are to show no pity (2 Thess. 3:10-12). Consider what God does to the lazy man: He makes his life a path of thorns - Prov. 15:19 He gives him nothing but wishes - Prov. 13:4 He throws him into a state of crisis - Prov. 6:9-11 God does not govern the world in this way because He is hard hearted, but because He knows that laziness is soul rot. He will not subsidize sin, but He does show the sloth the way out of his condition. Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest (Prov 6:6-8). The three things the lazy man needs to learn above all else are: self-motivation, foresight & industry. But notice that this passage also contains a subtle contrasts between laziness & wisdom which invites us to probe an important insight. The person who gives in to his laziness soon falls under a mystifying spell. Laziness casts one into a deep sleep (Prov 19:15a). Laziness puts us into a spiritual coma. Upon falling into the habit of lazing about the house, playing Nintendo and surfing the web, we soon slip into a whole new mental zone. This explains why everyone can see why the sloth is getting behind on his bills, his lawn, his car maintenance, his church attendance and his job performance except the sloth himself. To him the whole thing is a grand mystery. While laziness is often thought of in terms of physical lethergy, it is actually a spiritual problem and it frequently manifests itself in the neglect of spiritual disciplines which invariably leads to spiritual poverty. We must plow & plant if we want to harvest. Are you mystified by your lack of faith, your inability to resist temptation, your unfruitfulness in the kingdom? Such is the work of harvesting, but to harvest the fruits of righteousness, you must first you must plow and plant. You must hear the word and receive it into your hearts, you must pray in faith, you must come to His table with thought and focus. Some of the most hard working people on the job, are totally checked out, when it comes to the work of spiritual discipline. Beware, Poverty is coming upon you like an armed man! It is desirable that we would respond to such a sermon as this by redoubling our efforts and repenting of sloth wherever it may be found lurking in our lives. But it should also drive us to Jesus, because our most important work is to believe on Him whom God has sent (John 6:28-29). None of us are good enough or have done enough to justify our selves before God. Only Jesus has done enough and so we must look to Him. |
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Copyright © 2006, Lost River
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