We started a few weeks talking about what is called “the 7 deadly sins”. An ancient list of core sins that are appetizing to all people everywhere. It was constructed by early Church leaders in the sixth century. Great Christians over the ages have recognized that these particular sins can erode away any spiritual life and so they must be avoided at all cost.
We have used a modern title to describe the sermon series, what happens in Vegas stays in you. Sin is not something you visit then easily leave behind never to repeat again. The sins we commit whether in Las Vegas or Carrollton stay with us and only a spiritual remedy can heal our wayward hearts and minds. Today we look at the sin of sloth. We would call it laziness today.
My mother used to say, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” Then she would give me a list of chores to do.
Someone told me about a man who came into a local factory to apply for a job and asked to fill out an application. The manager on duty said, “I’m sorry, I can’t hire you. There just isn’t enough work to keep you busy.” The man said, “Oh, you’d be surprised how little it takes.” (to keep him busy) We all know people who aren’t examples of energy.
Paul warned the readers of Hebrews (6:12). “12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Laziness or sloth is a real problem. We don’t want to admit that. This is a sin seldom admitted by anyone in our society. We brag about other things, but not this one. No one here would ever admit, “Yeh, I look for ways to not do my work on the job.” Sloth is a sin that goes far beyond working 8-5. There is a spiritual idleness that dulls our attention to God and keeps us motionless as Christian coach potatoes that have little or no effect in our community. It is a part of the human sinful nature to avoid labor, physical or spiritual.
I. THE BIBLE LESSONS WE SHOULD REVIEW.
The Bible teaches us that the corresponding virtue to sloth is zeal. That’s the virtue that washes away the sin.
Romans 12 “9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
“Never be lacking in zeal.” That is to be our goal as believers. Some of you might be thinking why do we need this sermon. This is not a realistic problem in our middle American Church. Yet on closer examination we realize that many Christian today are left without any spiritual enthusiasm. Some nominal Christian say they have enough faith to carry them to heaven when they die, but it hasn’t even carried them to church worship in years.
I heard about a small town that had 3 churches in it. A Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist Church. All three had a serious problem with squirrels nesting and living in their church building. So each church met to discuss the problem.
The Presbyterians decided that it was predestined that squirrels be in the church and that they would just have to live with them.
The Methodists decided they should deal with the squirrels in the loving style of Charles Wesley. So they humanly trapped them and released them in a park at the edge of town. Within 3 days they were all back in the church.
The Baptists had the best solution, as per their tradition, They voted the squirrels in as members, Now they only see them at Christmas and Easter.
God wants us to be active and energetic for Him. We do not serve a mediocre or idle God and so He expects from us a zeal in our faith that is obvious and consistent.
If you go back to the early chapters of Genesis we realize that in the garden of Eden Adam and Eve worked at caring for the animals, gathering their food even before the fall to sin. But when they disobeyed God and they fell to sin God came to them and said in Gen. 3. Let me read there.
Genesis 3
16To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
(We see two consequences in that first verse directly related to women. 1. Pain of childbirth (Terri, never again) But it means more than that. Paradise was lost and now children would be more than just painful for a women at birth, Eve had never experienced childbirth when this consequence was enacted. But now children would be disobedient and rebellious and the chore of raising children would be increased and secondly 2. Loss of position, your desire will be for your husband)
17To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
(Here are two more consequences of sin for all mankind, 1. Troublesome toil and 2. Death)
Because of our sins physical labor is full of chores. Haven’t you noticed in life how many things really are rather difficult, when they shouldn’t be that way at all……………Work is this world can be toilsome. And if we are to please God, experience a useful life we will have to work to provide for our families, to help our neighbors and grow spiritually.
II. THE SUBTLE EFFECTS OF SLOTH.
A. There are some very subtle effects of sloth or laziness you have probably not considered for some time, so let’s review them so we can guard against their effects. M. Scoot Peck is a world famous psychiatrist and a Christian and he says laziness is a major cause of evil and primary source of psychological illness. He sees laziness as the main reason we Americans are failing at human relationships. Sloth is a sin that poisons our will and take away are desire to do good and resist evil. George Barnard Shaw the playwright once said that the epitaph for many people should read, “Died at 30, buried at 60.”
B. Christian author Dorothy Sayers says, that the sin of pride attacks are strong points wanting us to boast and be arrogant about our accomplishments, but sloth pulls a reverse and attacks our weak points, it won’t allow us to run risks, suggesting the demands are too great, it makes us settle for self-protection as if that is our highest calling.
C. I think there are seven things that this sloth, this complacency, this idleness does to us.
1. It makes us avoid risk taking. Matthew 8:18 and following tells of a story, 18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” I am not talking about silly risk taking, but many never try or attempt service for God, under the guise that they are prudent or thoughtful, but really they are lazy.
2. Sloth doesn’t fulfill the command to love our neighbor. Matthew 22 37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love takes real effort, all your heart, soul and mind. Lazy people won’t work to develop relationships and they certainly won’t work to heal a broken one, they just let it go.
3. Sloth doesn’t develop it’s talent. In Matthew 25 the servant who receive 1 talents and buried it in the back yard while the others multiplied their talents was referred to as a “wicked and lazy servant.”
4. Sloth avoids responsibility. James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
5. Sloth feeds the spectator mentality. The greed word for sloth is actually the word “acedia” which literally means, “no care”.
6. Sloth promotes faintheartedness. Gal.6:9 says, “9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ Jesus said, He who endures to the end will be saved.” Lazy people have short attention spans and they certainly won’t break a spiritual sweat on anything at all. We wimp out.
7. Sloth makes us spiritually disinterested. Proverbs 4:7 says, “7Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”
To have a relationship with God takes effort and the person who knows to share it that and doesn’t defines his or her’s own laziness.
III. THE VIRTURE OF ZEAL.
A. I want you to listen to three scriptures. Titus 2:11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Romans 12:11 “11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. “ Col. 3: “23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
B. John Wesley used to teach that God’s grace comes in two forms. Instituted grace. We are forgiven by God and that is demonstrated in things like communion and baptism and then there is God’s Then there is prudential grace. If you have Prudential Insurance that means the company is prudent. God’s grace prompts us to prudence in our life, not is some repressive way but God’s grace cultivates in us a discipline that helps us live well and enthusiastically for the Lord. God’s grace saves us then changes us.
C. Let me give you 5 things to help cultivate your zeal for the Lord.
1. Recognize that you alone are responsible to cultivate your zeal. No one else is involved here. This is about you. Don’t blame someone else, saying you can’t get motivated, or that someone is keeping you from pursuing the Lord. This is a matter of the most personal nature. You and you alone are responsible before the God of Heaven and all creation to have a zeal for his word and a love for his son Jesus Christ. I have always loved the quote, "If you would kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for six months." This is about you, no one else, you can do this
2. Develop a strategy to handle the world’s temptations, which can ruin your spiritual sensitivity. We have to be honest about what we watch and read and visit on the internet. If you traffic in sinful places that rubs off, so be careful. Bad company corrupts good morals, the Bible says. So develop a pattern that you follow to maintain your holiness. My own children throw up in my face on e of my favorite quotes which Charles Swindle once said, “when you put on white gloves and play in the mud, the mud never gets glovey.” Be smart.
3. Practice the Sabbath principle in your life. Ex. 20 8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” There are not many work-a-holic in life, most of us are normal people, but at times we are left without energy because rather than plan our work and our rest, we live scattered life that seem always busy, but is actuality get little accomplish. Don’t be disobedient to God here. Some say Sunday is my only day to rest and they skip church. Then they will get to the end of life and all they ever had was a nap. God wants to renew the spirit and body in the Sabbath principle.
4. Plan your service to Christ. Just as we tithe our income think about how you can plan to do something good, something positive, something loving for others and for our Lord.
5. God will reward you with joy when you serve Him. There is an old church hymn that says, there is joy in serving Jesus, and that is true. Billy Sunday said, “if you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity.”
A young boy growing up in a Christian home in Ohio had left home and was working on a canal boat when he injured his foot while chopping wood. He contracted blood poisoning and soon became an invalid. During the long, painful months in bed he resolved to seek an education upon recovery. He studied for the ministry but then became a teacher, then a school principal. During the Civil War he joined the 42nd Ohio Volunteers, became a hero during the fighting at Shiloh and Chickamauga, and rose to major general. After serving in Congress as Representative from Ohio and U.S. Senator, he was elected President (20th) of the United States. It was while lying in bed that he decided to change the direction of his life. His name was James Abram Garfield”
The Lord desires us to be productive and helpful people. Let’s get busy following Him.
