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The Seven Deadly Sins

“Forever Spectators”

Proverbs 6:6-11; 24:30-34 / Galatians 6:7-10 / Matthew 25:31-46

Pastor Thomas Hall

 

  A

 sloth is a slow-moving, three-toed animal in South America that sleeps 22 hours a day.  It just hangs upside down from a tree branch and sleeps.   But don’t make the mistake of calling the sloth a sloth—lazy!  It isn’t.  The very nature of the sloth is to be inactive—except when it’s suppertime.  So it just hangs upside down, not lazy, just doing what comes natural.

          In this hurried, intense world, we need more five-fingered sloths.  Especially us A-types.  We’ve become workaholics.  We’re so driven that we don’t live, we are lived by our jobs, tasks, deadlines.  I think some of us need to make like a sloth and linger over a long lunch with a friend.  Or lollygag aimlessly through the woods with a person we love.  Or spend a day doing nothing because the demand of our job is about to do us in.  When was the last time you put your Daytimer® down to watch a sunset?   Just sitting there in silence alone to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God?

          Relaxing, strolling, lollygagging to refresh your soul is refreshing.  But there is another kind of sloth that we need to be aware of.  This sloth comes from the Greek word, akedia, which means “no caring.”  Almost exactly what our word, apathy, means, “without passion.”  The deadly sin that goes by the same name as our three-toed friend, has the power paralyze entire communities, churches, and families.  Sloth keeps us from loving; it just doesn’t care enough to get involved.    

          Sloth is a couch potato annoyed that someone would dare ring the door bell or call them up during their favorite program.  Sloth is a slow poisoning of the will so that we just simply refuse to get involved if it requires any effort or inconvenience.

          Sloth makes us want Christ, but only moderately: allows us to love Jesus, but only moderately; allows us to follow Jesus, but only so far.  Sloth is the sin that, according to Dorothy Sayers, “cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and only remains alive because there is nothing it would die for.” 

          Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan?  A guy gets thugged and left on the shoulder like a road kill.  But not to worry.  Jesus tells us that it so happens that a religious type walks by—a priest.  He sees the man through the corner of his eye, but he ignores the crumbled body and simply crosses the street, minds his own business.  Well, another passerby happens along—a Levite which is a rough equivalent of a choir member.    Not only does he see the man, but he actually walks over the roughed up guy and gawks at him.  But once his curiosity is satisfied, he also crosses the street and goes on his way; he too refuses to get involved.   That’s what the deadly sin of sloth does to us.  Sloth prevents us from getting out of a limb, keeps us from any risk, and keeps us self-protective and fearful of getting involved.

          Did you follow the story about Pope John Paul’s trip to Israel?  He did a great service in the name of Jesus.  He came to Israel to apologize for what his Church did during World War II.  The Church he serves allowed sloth to keep them from standing up for what is right when innocent people were being driven to their deaths.  He apologized that his Church didn’t break the silence and say what needed saying about Hitler.   Many Roman Catholic Christians risked their lives to save Jewish people from death, but the Church leaders were silent; they simply refused to say or do anything.  That’s what sloth does to us.  It turns us into spectators.

          In the movie, Grand Tour, a group of people from the future goes back through time to take a tour of past events.  In their world of the future, they have solved all problems of sickness, war, poverty, and natural catastrophes.  But they’re bored with their protected, perfect world.  So they take tours to the past when things weren’t quite so perfect.  But theirs is not your usual Amish land tour.  These people tour what they call “spectacles,” great calamities of the past.  Since they know where and at what time the spectacle will appear, they check into a nearby hotel and then from a safe distance, they simply become spectators and watch the catastrophe unfold.

          When the sin of sloth gets its hooks in our life it turns us into spectators.  Life becomes a grand tour of observing, but rarely getting personally involved, not running any risk, not loving.

          In his book, The Seven Deadly Sins, Tony Campolo says that folks split up when sloth is wrapped around their relationship.  It’s not enough to know what our marriages need—more communication, less blaming, more listening, spending more time together.  Most troubled couples will agree that that is exactly what their relationship needs.  But Campolo says that many just simply reach a point where they don’t want to expend the energy to fix what needs fixing.  Scott Peck agrees and says that sloth stands in the way of a growing healthy relationship.

          Sloth says to the preacher, “Why should you study so hard?  Why spend so much energy on these people?  They probably won’t know the difference if you just lay back and throw something together at the last moment.”

          Sloth says to the choir, “All this work just to get rid of the “r’s” in our words!  Do we really need to do this?  Can’t we just SING, for heaven’s sake, literally?”

          Sloth says to us, “What’s the big deal about missions?  Why should we get lathered up over the heifer project.  There’s a hundred other churches out there that are helping.  Let’s just give some food to help our neighbors and put a few extra bucks in the plate to keep the district off our backs.”

          Sloth says, “Why should I get involved in one of the teams at EUMC?  Why should I volunteer to work in our Sunday School or in the nursery?  They  don’t need me; what difference does it really make?  Don’t they know that I don’t do kids?”

          Sloth says, “You’re doing them a real favor just to show up on Sunday morning; no one should expect anymore than that.”

 

·        When the death of Calvin Coolidge was made public, someone quipped, “But how can they tell?”

·        George Bernard Shaw once said that the epitaph for many people should read, “Died at 30; buried at 60.”

·        You’re dead when the suffering of another causes you no pain.

·        You’re dead when your blood does not run hot in the face of blatant injustice.

·        You’re dead when you evade the truth that hurts and accept an easy lie.

·        You’re dead when you are not willing to put forth the energy to save a dying relationship.

           

In 1 John 3, the writer aims at sloth when he says, if we have the resources of time and money and yet close our hearts to those who need our help, how can we claim that we love God?  

And the writer of James says, “my friends, what good is there in saying to brothers or sisters in need “God bless you!  Keep warm and eat well!  -- but never giving them from your personal treasures?”  That’s not faith, that’s sloth, James would say.

          How can we pull the hooks of apathy out of our lives and become more loving active people who aren’t afraid to get involved? 

          First, don’t duck the bullets.  Simply confess you participation in sloth.  Confess any excuses that have kept you from loving this congregation, from loving your neighbors, from loving others enough to do something about it.  Let Jesus save you, let him remove the hooks from your life. 

          Second, develop what Wesley called a “rule of life.”  That’s the strongest defense against spiritual sloth.  A rule of life is a simply plan that allows us to be formed by Christ through daily Scripture reading and prayer, by regular church attendance and the Lord’s Supper.   The rule of life is a simple plan to nourish the soul and resist sloth.

          But we’re still missing something.   Without this missing piece, we’ll fall flat on our face tomorrow morning when we try the rule of life for the first time.  Before you even think about trying to keep any rule of life, we need motivation!  Just propping ourselves up with new nerve won’t cut it.

          The Holy Spirit is the real Motivator in the Christian life.  The Spirit will give you a thirst and hunger for God that nothing else will.  The Spirit will give you the sense of direction, the sense of risk, and the energy to be different and better and more loving.  The Holy Spirit is Someone outside of ourselves outside or our American culture, outside of Random House publishers who will heal our will and empower us to love with action and risk.

          The Holy Spirit will allow you to see this world as God sees it.  When God fills you with Himself, the things that break the heart of Jesus will break our hearts.  To be alive in the Spirit is to view people through the eyes of Christ.  So that whenever we see anyone suffering, we will feel what Christ feels for that person and seek to alleviate that suffering. 

          Sloth deadens, but the Spirit gives life.  Sloth is self-centered but the Spirit creates a burning desire to change the world. Sloth will leave you unmoved and untouched in the presence of God.  But the Spirit will fill you with the power to love again, to make the relationships better, to be better parents and kids, to get involved again.  Amen.

 

 


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