Getting It Into Gear Series

• Intro; have you ever heard of an animal called the Sloth?

This I an animal that does absolutely nothing, if threatened it emits a low plaintive cry, but this hardly ever happened since it seldom comes to the ground and rarely is ever in danger.

Most people have more in common with this creature than they care to admit.

I know of a few family members that if you ask them to do anything they admit a low painful cry.

In the animal kingdom, this animal might be regarded as docile and lazy, but it hurts no one.

In the human kingdom, those who are lazy or slothful face a much different fate.

Slothfulness is one of the seven deadly sins.

In the first part of the seven deadly sins we discussed the sin of omission. Slothfulness is perhaps for the most part a sin of omission.

Slothful people do nothing, and in doing nothing, they omit many good things they could have done.

You may say pastor, we are a culture that has developed a colossal collection of workaholics, Psychologists are continually telling us to chill out, slowdown, and smell the roses.

If I were to ask any of you in here this morning are you slothful?

I would probably not having any takers, because many of you would say "I’m busy all the time," I never have enough time to rest.

The truth is that every generation has been just as busy with work as any other generation. There has always been the idle rich, the idle poor, sick, and feeble, but the vast majority of people have worked from dawn to dust. They have just worked at different jobs and have had different priorities.

But the truth is sloth has very little to do with work or even the pace of life.

It has to do with whether we are lazy about the important things of life. Sloth is selective, it is moving slowly when we should be moving speedily or purposefully. It is hanging around when we should be taking on a challenge. And most of us could admit that we are slothful in certain areas of our lives, and most of the time, they’re the most important area Life.

I. No slack is cut for sloth.

Slothfulness has a number of seductive qualities to it. It lulls us into complacency, apathy, and inactivity.

Jesus had a great deal to say about slothfulness. One day he was up to bat and hit a home run of a message about sloth. He told three stories aimed directly at Sloth in Matthew Ch. 25.

A. No excuse for failing to prepare.

In the first story Jesus describe a group of bridesmaids who were waiting for a bridal parade to begin.

In Jewish Culture, the bridegroom would go to the bride’s house to pick up his bride, and there would be a parade back to the bridegroom’s house for a big ceremony and a banquet that would last a week.

Jesus’ Parable was about ten virgins, five who were wise brought lamps with them and oil for the lamps, five were foolish airheads that brought no oil for their lamps.

The parade began about midnight, and the ones who had oil in their lamps joined the parade. That made it all away the groom’s house and joined the celebration.

The five foolish virgins you were looking at their nails and worry about their hair forgot about the oil needed in their lamps begins to search frantically. Finally they found some oil and went to the bridegroom’s house and ask to come in, but the bridegroom said that there was no room for them and they were left out.

Four things were required of these bridesmaids, four things they fail to do.

A. We have a responsibility for knowing what GOD desires for us to do with our lives.

B. We have a responsibility for planning for our eternal future.

C. We have a responsibility for zeroing in on what is most important.

D. We have a responsibility for being sensitive to God’s timing.

There is no excuse for being left out.

B. No excuse for failing to try.

In the second parable Jesus was describing a wealthy entrepreneur who had given three of his servant’s three different levels of money.

The first one he gave $5,000.00, to the second one he gave $2,000.00, and the third one he had gave $1,000.00.

Then he left, the entrepreneur was gone for a long time then one day he returned an essential said, “Show me the money.”

Now the first two had done everything that the master had asked of them and had increased their money by double.

But the one who had $1,000.00 went and buried his money.

Now the master was angry, and through the servant out!