• 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!
Too many people give up and quit saying to themselves, “what’s the use? I’ll never be as good as __________.”
“But I’m a loser. Other people win all the time and make big scores, but I’m just not in their league, so why even try.”
Remember GOD didn’t call anybody to sit on the sidelines, He expects each person to be active to show the faith, the energy, and the abilities that God has given each of us.
Practice what you know to practice, and do what you what you know to do.
You can’t succeed at the interview if you don’t show up for it. You won’t get the job if you don’t apply for it. And who knows how Far you might have gone, if you never take the first step in any given direction.
It was a risk for the servants to make money, they knew that their master expected them to return the money that they were given.
The one thought that he didn’t need to do anything with his. It showed laziness, no initiative, and no caring for others.
He didn’t even try to do anything.
It takes faith to overcome sloth. It also takes sustained effort over-time, which requires discipline.
Here is the point that I don’t want you to miss.
Not only has the Lord given to each of us talents and abilities, but he also has given to every person a measure of faith and free will.
God also has given us the power to make choices and to discipline our lives.
Each of us has been given these things to overcome slothfulness.
A. God-given ability; An attitude for success in one or more areas of life and the capacity for educational and intellectual development.
B. God-given Life; and a degree of physical strength, energy, and flexibility.
C. GOD-given faith. As Romans 12:3 says “God has dealt to each one a measure of Faith.”
D. GOD-given will; with which to make choices, decisions and to set priorities.
And GOD expects us to use what we’ve been given. There’s no excuse for laziness. It’s not a matter of how much you have been given; it’s a matter of what you do with what you’ve been given.
C. No excuse for a callous heart.
Jesus continues with His third parable on Slothfulness.
Jesus told a story about a King who judged His people according to whether they had done his will or not.
To the righteous group, He said enter into the Joy of the Lord for when I was hungry you feed me, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, naked you clothed me, and a stranger you took me in.
And the righteous said when did we take you in Lord? When you did it unto the least of them you did it unto me.
To the unrighteous group, the King said, “Get out of my sight,” when I was hungry you didn’t feed me, when I was thirsty you didn’t give me a glass of water, when I was a stranger you slam the door in my face, when I was naked you didn’t even give me clothes.
If you ask someone, “Why aren’t you involved in ministry of some type?” But most of the time they’ll give you these two answers.
“I’m not the pastor,” Listen, Ministry is not limited to those in full time or part time church jobs.
Ministry is expected of every person who calls himself a Christian.
Two Minister to another person is to help another person overcome the need in his life.
If the need is emotional, mental, practical, material or spiritual the need must be met on that level.
We are to do our best to meet needs wherever and whenever we find them.
Every person you meet has a need in some areas of his life at any given time. You are to minister to that need to the best of your ability.
I don’t know what the Lord would like for me to do as a ministry I don’t know how he wants me to be involved
My response to that today is, “look around,” “open your eyes.”
Jesus was very practical in his teachings, He cited people who work by obviously in need; Hungry people, thirsty people, strangers, sick people, prisoners, and naked people. These people still live in our world today.
And it is a sad thing that we as Christians are too slothful and lazy to do anything about.
We have people in the hospital when was the last time that you took the time to go see them?
We also have people, who have deep inner needs,
1. The hunger to know God and have more meaning in life.
2. A thirst for the word of God.
3. A desire to be in fellowship with GOD and with other people;
4. A desire to be healed of some emotional weakness, injury, or sickness;
5. A desire to be free of bad memories, bad dreams, harmful addictions, and a gripping fear:
6. They desire to be clothed with a new God.
But the problem is not that we are unaware of the needs all around us, the problem is that we do want to do anything about the needs.
We want to show our eyes and shuttered doors and hope they’ll all go away we don’t face our own problems, much less take on the problems of others.
It’s a matter of slothfulness.
Your response to all this may be, “but there’s so much to do, what can I possibly do that would make any difference?”
Look the lord doesn’t expect you to personally take on the problems of the whole world; all Jesus wants you to do is if you see a need meet the need!
Jesus didn’t say adopt the man or feed him three square meals a day for the rest of his life he just said, “Meet the need.”
The lord didn’t ask us to do anything that we are incapable of doing.
What would Jesus do, that is the question that we need to ask ourselves.
Things will not be better in the morning after a good night’s sleep.
Are we doing everything we can to meet the needs of people that are right in front of us?
What about the people right here in church that are hurting? Do we avoid them hoping their problem will somehow go away?
