"The Seven: Sloth"
Dean AngellNovember 4/5, 2006
It was late December 1986 – I was 20 years old – I was in Mexico
City. I had been on a mission trip with 300 other college students and had spent 10 days – sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in remote areas of the Mexican mountains – unbelievable experience – partnered with local Mexican University students (cross-cultural deal). Anyway – when it was over we all met in Mexico City – debrief and a few of the Mexican students – wanted to give me an authentic Mexican experience – so they took me to the bullfights. Huge stadium – middle of the City, 1000’s of people, unbelievable crowd sport. Quiet and gasp and then aggressive Ole. To this day I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience like it, I can vividly remember.
Smells
+ Mexican food
+ Dirt/dust
+ Animals
Sounds
-crowd-silence
swords
Sights
+ bright colored matador’s
+ jet black bulls
Emotions
+ unbelievable experience
One of the best days of my life!! Lived it with heightened awareness and more emotion than ever before.
As long as I live – I will remember those moments – because in those moments I really lived them – in those moments I was fully alive.
Let me ask you a question – How long have you been really alive? Or better put, how many days of your life have you really lived?
And before you answer that – I’d like to give you a couple “I believe” statements.
And these are Dean’s I believe statements-not anybody else’s.
“I believe that deep within us – each of us has a desire for more of life – to do more and to become more – to get the very most out of our lives as we possibly can. And it isn’t a choice – it’s a natural thing.
Because – “I also believe that this desire to get the very most out of life is part of our make up – that God is actually the one who created us to want more and that He is the one who wired us up to do the best and most we possible can with our lives.”
Jesus said, this about people who follow him.
I came so you can have real and eternal life, more and better life than you ever dreamed of. John 10:10 (Message)
Ever wonder - every sit back and ponder why it is that human beings strive so hard?
Why do we have such a strong desire to succeed in our careers – or to reach our goals in business?
Why do most parents want to raise their kids to be the best they can be – no matter what sacrifice the parents make?
Why do human beings have to compete and be the best they can be at sports?
Why are we on an endless pursuit of knowledge?
Why is it that we strive so hard?
Why? Well here’s what I see to be true. In God’s word it says that you and I were created for eternity – we were created with a desire and drive to be our very best in life . . . to want to make a difference with our lives during the years that we have.
Scientists tell us that we human beings only use a very small percentage of our brain capacity – we were created for much more that we can even realize or capitalize on.
And if you’ve ever watched the Olympics and how amazing those athletes are - it doesn’t take long to realize that most of us are using a very small portion of what our bodies can actually accomplish as well.
Whenever I watch great sporting events I just have this nagging feeling within me – we are made for more.
So . . . that’s where I want to start today – to make sure we all understand how God has created us.
He has placed inside of each of us a pounding in our chests for more of life – a desire deep down in our spirits to pursue life with passion and to squeeze the very most that we can out of the life we’ve been given. That’s what I know to be true about God’s design for our lives.
But when I sat down and thought more about it this week I had to ask the next question, which came pretty naturally. If it’s true that we were created for greatness and for more and if it’s true we were meant to live passion filled lives – why is it that so many of us aren’t?
Why aren’t we challenged and encouraged every day?
Why are we – (all to often) indifferent about life?
Why is work such a grind?
Why is home a bore and why do our marriages not have spark?
Why are these statements so often true about our lives?
See . . . when I asked you that question a few minutes ago – How long have you really lived? Our desire was to answer “all the time” or that’s how I’d like to live my life (being fully alive). But the truth of the matter is . . . “Many people live and then years later die → without having really lived at all.” Tony Campollo
Countless millions of us never reflect with any awareness or intensity at all – on any part of our lives.
Thoreaux said it like this . . . “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Another philosopher put it like this . . . “We aren’t desperate – but be are vaguely dissatisfied - because we have been living half lives – half-heartedly.”
There’s a country song with a great line in it – “If my life was a horse – I’d have to take it out and shoot it.”
And so we live in this strange paradox of being capable of greatness, but settling for much less.
Now, why would that be?
Well – I believe our topic today –
SLOTH – is at the root of why this great paradox exists in our lives. Have you ever heard of a sloth? Animal – mammal actually – and they are quite interesting creatures actually. Sloth’s are sluggish and inactive and all they seem to do is hang or rest their bodies in trees almost their entire life and very seldom come down.
Build no homes or nests
They are unbelievably lazy
Don’t even seek shelter for their young
They seldom put themselves at risk or in danger at all
Sleep 15-22 hours/day (sounds okay)
Rise in the late afternoon – to eat whatever leaves are close at hand and then they go back to sleep sounds like me on vacation. That’s a sloth – and that animal got it’s name from the bible. Which describes sloth as a sin (something not in God’s design for our lives.) Here’s the definition I’m gonna give . . . Sloth – “is the failure to do what needs to be done – when it needs to be done.”
Now let me give you the big picture for a moment.
There are 2 over arching kinds of sins in this world – sins of commission and sins of omission.
Sins of commission are ones we commit. We do – we’re directly involved - greed – gluttony – most of the seven . . . are sins of commission. We’re actually engaged in them and they’re wrong for us and they drag us down - we’ve talked about that.
Sins of omission are exactly the opposite they are the sins that we cause to happen because we don’t do something – because we omit them.
Sloth – is that kind of sin. It is the sin of unreached potential. Sloth is the sin of what we don’t get done – (even if we’re busy people) and lots of us get confused about what this sin is and why it is often so spiritually destructive in our lives.
See, sloth is not just taking a day off, or watching the sunset or even taking time to watch a football game. No → it’s a lot more than that. Sloth is actually when we distort the precious gift of time and purpose that God gives us by wasting it on meaningless or self indulgent activities. And therefore not carry out the purposes of God for our lives.
Here’s how Jesus described it. (Great story – stick with me)
Matthew 25:14-29 (NLT)
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. (Fear of loosing it or maybe he was just lazy . . . )
“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
(Now listen to the change in tone – fear – excuses.)
“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! Why didn’t you (at least) deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use what they are given well, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
Sloth is the sin of unreached potential – it is the sin of wasting the time and talent and treasure entrusted to us by God and it mixes up our values and priorities in life. See people I don’t think many of us really grasp at all how much God has given to us and the responsibility that comes with managing and investing well what He’s asked us to take care of. (time/talent/resources).
Here’s the thing we need to understand about sloth. It tries to sell us a bill of goods that says we can find fulfillment in life simply by being a sloth, by being self indulgent or by pursuing selfish - comfortable – eat where we sleep – slothful kinds of desires – (watching T. V. all night and not engaging in life). Or sloth tells us – just roll over and hit the snooze bar . . . or just sit there and hit the remote control – or just do what I want when I want to and just not look or see or engage with the world around me - or with what God wants me to do in the world around me.
Listen to a couple verses of wisdom from Proverbs.
Proverbs 6:10 & 11
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come upon you like a bandit . . . and scarcity like a robber . . .
Proverbs 13:4 (NIV)
The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
Sloth says, real life comes from indulging in yourself, and in comfort as often as you possibly can. But Jesus says the exact opposite. He said the exact opposite. Jesus said true fulfillment comes when we partner with God on what he is doing in the world and satisfaction comes when we invest and multiply the gifts and talents and resources he’s entrusted to us.
Sloth says fulfillment in life comes from being self-absorbed and apathetic to the world around you. That spending most of your energy trying to be fully entertained and highly comfortableis the key to satisfaction in life.
But Jesus said abundant life actually comes from fully engaging in our relationship with Him and being fully engaged and aware of the needs of the world around you that is where satisfaction come from - not from comfort or apathy.
Proverbs 13:4 (NIV)
The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
Let me ask you a couple of questions. And I just want you to think about them . . .
1. What is one thing you do that continually robs you of time and energy?
2. How does your weekly T.V./internet time compare to time spent pursuing your spiritual life/disciplines or service?
3. Do you describe yourself as to busy? And what does that mean?
Just sort through those for a minute.
See – here’s the thing.
Sloth is not all we think it is. Sloth is not just a do nothing – remote control flipping – potato chip eating – beer drinking lazy bum. Being slothful can also happen to hard working people.
You can work hard, and even be highly successful in your career – but even workaholics can be sluggish at doing that which is truly needful.
Some of the busiest people I know are still living their life on cruise control – just going through the motions. one person described them like this.
“They’re like someone with a bad head cold – they have mostly lost their sense of taste and smell.”
They’re letting things run their course – just piling up enough money to retire early.
Yes, even very hard working people can be deceived by sloth we just get caught up in that, “money is security” and “social ladder climbing is the right – deal” and we fail to see the rest of the world and it’s needs right outside our window. A world that God has asked us to help Him transform, but we’re too busy – or to slothful to invest our lives and multiply what God as given us.
So – what is the answer to sloth?
How can we ensure that we’re not gonna just be self indulgent, comfort seeking people. People who are not able to see what God wants us to see or do what God wants us to do in this world – because we’re so self-oriented.
Here’s my suggestion and I think its God’s to.
PAY ATTENTION
I believe we can truly change the course of our days by consciously choosing to be awake and alert.
I also believe that seizing the most out of our lives - living up to the full potential God created us for will happen. This abundant life Jesus talked about will happen at the same moment we aggressively push sloth out of our lives. And I think the way we do both of those is to pay attention.
Everything we experience in life must pass through our attention- everything.
We often don’t have a lot of control over what happens in life, but we do and can have control over out attention.
Here’s a couple ideas. Let me get practical.
1. Pay attention to the here and now. (If we’re gonna beat sloth.)
It is vital for us to live in the present, but the truth is most of us are
plagued with thoughts of only the past or the future. See – when we focus on the past we are fighting these emotions –regret, guilt, anger, and bitterness and these emotions prevent us from moving to the here and now.
Other people live in the future – which is filled with : what if’s and if
only’s. Always looking to our next experience, to our destination instead of to right now, today, this minute! Avoiding the present has almost become a habit in our society. And it is most often where sloth gains access to our lives.
Imagine what it would be like if we could live each moment in a state of focused attention and heightened awareness and emotion.
We are in far to great a hurry to get somewhere other than where we are. We rush through life trying to find the important parts and we tend to forget or pass by all the rest.
The reality is ordinary moments when we experience them fullyis what makes us alive!
You know children know how to live in the hear and now – they don’t need reminders. Just take them for a walk through a park and you’ll see it. They have a very keen sense of – wonder – creativity – delight – curiosity – spontaneity. It’s like they see everything for the first time.
And hurrying never even once comes into there minds!
It’s simple - what you see is what you get! It’s all a matter of keeping our eyes open. Moments of life and beauty are everywhere. We need to bring our presence – our attention into these moments. If you want to beat sloth and seize a great life - pay attention to the here and now.
Second – Pay Attention to the state of your soul.
But also pay attention to those you love.
It’s easy to miss the people you live with or your closest friends. Easy to take them for granted. We can treat the members of our own household like strangers even though we sit down at the same table to eat everyday. We see one another, but we really don’t look at one another.
Brutal statistics – typically the average married couple spends 12 minutes per day in any kind of conversation. (12 minutes!) A typical father only talks to his children 4½ minutes/day. I gotta ask you → How valuable are your relationships? Slow down.
Think with me – just for a moment. I want you to make a mental list. Which 9 or 10 people would you include in your inner circle of relationships. Which people would you consider most precious to you - think for a moment.
For me - wife – sons – daughter – family members – 2 or 3 close friends.
Now – got your list? Now - stop and think about the last month or next month. How much time have you spent developing and enjoying those relationships. Relationships need to be nurtured/nourished and celebrated – friendships won’t last with out food!
Key is this: Love - Love (folks) is not a feeling – it’s an action – love is activity → it’s effortful. Scott Peck writes this: “Love is the will to extend ourselves for the purpose of nurturing another’s spiritual growth.” We choose to love → Love is work! The essence of non-love → is sloth. Love is a deliberate choice.
1. Find ways to express appreciation and love for another. A note, a thank you, a hug, a look. My wife and I sign language. My life is filled with people → crowd → when life gets busy -if she needs to know I love her – give her a sign. She to me.
2. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other events with creativity and enthusiasm. Get romantic - buy some roses. Bake a cake.
3. Ask those you love – important questions that move beyond superficiality.
1. How are you really doing?
2. What’s going on in you marriage these days?
3. How is your relationship with God lately?
4. What are you most struggling with?
4. Perform acts of kindness and thoughtfulness regularly for those you love.
And remember – love is expressed in action. People who seize life and battle sloth pay attention to the hear and now and to those they love.
Thirdly and final if you want to seize life and battle sloth Pay attention to the state of your soul.
I wish I could get you to take out your schedule, day book → daytimer.
Look at last month → What would be there?
-work trip
-recreation family stuff
-concert clean the house
-church gathering go for coffee
Most of those are good things, but all to often the most important thing is frequently absent. Contemplating the care of our souls. How do we pay attention to what’s going on inside. See, we need more out of life than working, sleeping, spending, eating, relating. We need to go against the compulsive business and drivenness of our society. We need time to be quiet!
To reflect and explore the meaning and the purpose of our lives? We need to make time for solitude. Listen to this verse from the bible. God is speaking.
Isaiah 5:53
“Come to me with your ears wide open – listen for the life of your soul is at stake!”
A lot of us are terrified of being alone and quiet. It seems we cannot function without noise or people. Folks, if we don’t slow down and retreat we won’t ask ourselves the most significant question of life - we need to create time for solitude.
Be practical – many examples of putting solitude into your life.
1. Mini solitudes
1. A few moments alone in a quiet car
2. A walk in the early morning
3. Your room late at night
Seize these moments and focus on your soul
2. Larger blocks of solitude
These times will only happen if you carve them boldly in your schedule. Write solitude in your calendar. Get away for 2 or 3 hours or 1 whole day and reflect on your life. Some of you are saying – a whole day? What would I do?
Get a pen and paper – reflect on you emotions – write it down.
Are you – bitter, angry, are you loving, are you sad, what do you hope for?
Are there people in your life you need to get things right with?
Do you need to say “I love you” to someone?
Ask God to show you these emotions. Folks you have to make a space for God in your life.
You can’t battle sloth and seize life without quiet time with Him. Isaiah 55:3
Come to me with your ears wide open – listen for the life of your soul is at state!
Pay attention to the state of your soul.
“The Glory of God is a man who is fully alive.” Iranaeus
Jewish Proverb
“In the day of judgement every man will be held accountable for every blessing he refused to enjoy.”
