philosophical Thoughts, Life Advice, and Unpopular Opinions

Deadly Sin #7-Sloth

Here it is: the last deadly sin. Sloth.... 

Mostly defined as laziness, it can also be defined by apathy. America is such a go-go-go place that you would think that sloth is rare here (even though us millennials get accused of it all the time). But what if we're so busy with the wrong things that we're slothful with the important things? It's just a thought, just a theory, but what if it's true? Is sloth found when a business is so focused on making profits that they are neglectful of their employees and the customers that make the business in the first place? Is it when a parent is such a workaholic he/she refuses to find time for his/her kids and neglects the family? Maybe it sounds like

"Oh I'll do it tomorrow."

"sorry I can't make it to your ball game. Next time perhaps."

"There's no point in getting out of bed. Why bother?"

"Someone else can do it. They'll pick up the slack." 

Solomon says many times in Proverbs that laziness leads to poverty. When we neglect the things that deserve our attention, we lose out on a lot of great things, not just money. And the slothful person isn't the only one who has to pay. Ever had to pick up the slack for someone at work? It's seriously annoying and draining, right? Maybe that's why it's a deadly sin. It drains the life right out of you!

So how do we confront sloth? How do we confront laziness, apathy, and neglect? I suppose we'd have to figure out what's causing it in the first place. Is it depression? Anxiety? Is your energy going to things that it shouldn't be going into? Do you have your priorities mixed up? If you struggle with sloth as I once did (okay, okay to a certain extent I still do today, but not as much), I would try to pinpoint what's causing it. For me, it was depression. I simply couldn't find any good reason to get out of bed or keep up with my work, so I neglected it and let it pile up. And when I saw all the work I let pile up, I shut down. And I used my fatigue and depression as an excuse. Even if it was a valid excuse (which I don't think it was) it still didn't solve the problem that I was hardly being productive at all in my life! So that's where I had to start. If I confronted my depression, I would deal a lethal blow to my slothfulness. I had to start with the little things. Even the smallest amount of work is better than not doing anything at all. Getting up and doing the dishes is still an accomplishment, even if that's the main thing I did all day, it's still better than nothing. But I had to keep going from there. I started this blog. I began to write a fictional story. I spent more time with my husband. I went out with him to places. I went to the gym, even if I didn't do any super intense workout, a small, light workout is STILL better than not working out at all! I began to look for a job faithfully to fund this blog and to contribute to the income for my small household, and now I work at Target.  And guess what? The more productive things I did, the better I felt about myself. My depression had a little less control over me when I listed all the productive things I did that day.  I'm glad to be working on this blog, my stories, and working in retail right now. I'm glad to be a wife as well. All those things are jobs the Lord gave me, and I want nothing more than to serve him well. Serving him and working hard for him gives me purpose in life. That's why I fight my slothfulness. And you should too.