To Conquer Sloth

I know exactly what you are thinking! When it comes to sloth, we tend to picture an image of a man on his recliner, beer in hand, vegging out on football all day. Or, for the more outdoorsy type, a furry, slow moving creature sitting (or hanging) motionless in a tree. And you are absolutely right, both illustrations represent an element and unique perspective on sloth.

Sloth involves laziness, boredom, lack of passion and idleness. The Pocket Catholic Dictionary defines sloth as "sluggishness of soul or boredom because of the exertion necessary for the performance of a good work. The good work may be a corporal task, such as walking; or a mental exercise, such as writing; or a spiritual duty, such as prayer".

Although our couch-potato man above was accurate, sloth is not just a sin against productivity. More than merely human laziness to avoid hard work, sloth is a sin against God. It’s quite possible to be an incredibly hard worker, never to lay on the couch or veg out on sports, news, or TV shows and still commit the sin of sloth.

Sloth is a failure to do your basic duties each and every day. In today’s fast-paced, win-at-all-costs world, sloth may be seen more commonly in working too much, just on the wrong things. While some may not be slothful to earn a paycheck, they may be slothful in their devotion to God, their spouse, children, parish community and prayer life.

The devil ventures to attack us if we fall into either of these two pitfalls of sloth. As we have learned, the enemy never sleeps and always has a plan no matter what your orientation or disposition. We have all heard sayings like, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” or “Idleness is the devil’s playground.” At the same time, it’s also true that, “If the devil can’t make you bad he will make you busy.” He attacks us from every side, there is seemingly nowhere to hide.

We must come to understand and develop a hierarchy of our daily responsibilities. Your spiritual duty to care for your soul cannot come if there happens to be spare time at the end of the day. God desires your first fruits! He wants the best of you, the best of your love. The same bodes true for your family. We often claim we just do not have the time, whether it be dinner as a family, a relaxing and carefree conversation with our spouse or children, or even in the quiet stillness in the presence of God. The question remains: what do we fill our time up with?

Let us pray for the grace from God to open our eyes to see and properly understand our duties within our state of life. Let us pray for the strength to overcome sluggishness and sloth to fulfill those duties. This can begin the very moment you arise each day. A spiritual director once enlightened me that the first thing you need to do is to decide when you will wake up and go to bed every day. When your alarm clock goes off, God is calling you. A day of good works is beckoning you to arise each day and fulfill your calling.