Are You a Lazybones?
Proverbs 6:6-11
February 20, 2005
Twenty three years ago, I was one of seventeen men and women who stood before the Annual Conference and was ordained into the United Methodist ministry. We had all written thousands of words explaining our personal histories, our theology, our understanding of ministry, and our acceptance of Wesleyan standards of conduct and piety. We had submitted written sermons and had gone though oral evaluations of sermons which we had preached. We completed more psychological tests than I can remember, and had submitted to rigorous physical exams. We had been interviewed by members of the Board of Ordained Ministry which was the body recommending us for ordination. The final piece was the vote of the clergy members of the Annual Conference because they are the ones, ultimately, who cast the deciding ballots and agree that candidates are acceptable and worthy to become one of those ordained for Word, Order, Sacrament, and Service.
There is an historical examination given to ordination candidates by the bishop which dates back to the very beginnings of our church. One of the questions is this: Will you…be diligent? Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never trifle away time; neither spend any more time at any one place than is strictly necessary.(The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. 2000. paragraph 327.9).
Wesley had this thing about laziness. He was, like most great leaders who change the religious, political, educational, or social landscape of the world, a type A personality. He was never still, always on the move, always doing something, always working to bring about his vision of a renewed church and nation.
During the last fifty years of his life, it is estimated that he traveled 225,000 miles, mostly on horseback; preached somewhere around 40,000 sermons (which averages more than 2 a day); and visited Ireland 42 times. Over one eight week period when he was 85 years old, he preached 80 times. (“Endless Line of Splendor” 1975. Halford E. Luccock and Webb Garrrison. Evanston, Illinois: United Methodist Communications).
As we continue this series of sermons on the seven deadly sins, we come this morning to sloth, sort of an outdated word for laziness. That is not a word I would use to describe John Wesley. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a lazy summer day with nothing to do except sit out in the shade with a big glass of iced tea in one hand and a book in the other. I’m not sure that because I enjoy a lazy afternoon, it makes me a lazy person.
For the past 14 years or so, since Toni and I have both been engaged in full-time ministry, we have been very diligent about our day off. Friday is the day. We, quite frankly, are lazy on Fridays. Actually we try to begin our Fridays on Thursday evening. Toni’s favorite television show is ER, and we do our best to be home from meetings in time to turn it on. When we go to bed, we turn the alarm off and sleep in until we wake up. When we finally get around, it is time to go to lunch - generally Mexican. The afternoons are spent in a movie or Barnes and Noble, or if she can get me there, the mall. At the end of a hectic week, and before the business of Saturday and Sunday rolls around, we find a thirty-six hour window to be lazy… to relax and reconnect, to rejuvenate, to have fun together, to recharge our batteries, and to remember why we married one another.
And here I am today talking about sloth, laziness…which is one of the seven deadly sins. Funny, I don’t feel like I’m sinning on Fridays. Most of the time, when I sin, I really know it. I don’t always admit it, but usually I know it deep down in my soul. But Friday? I’m hard pressed to call that a sin.
Let me tell you right off that there is a difference between rest and sloth, between rejuvenation and laziness. Idleness does not necessarily translate into sinfulness.
Let me take you back to the first chapter of Genesis. Do you remember the order of creation? Day 1...the separation of light from darkness. Day 2...creation of the sky. Day 3...the creation of the dry land and vegetation. Day 4...the sun, moon, and stars. Day 5...living creatures of every kind. Day 6...humankind. Men and women. Adam and Eve.
What happened on the seventh day? On the seventh day, God and the entire creation rested. So you see, on their very first full day of life, Adam and Eve rested. In all honesty, they hadn’t done much yet. They couldn’t have been very tired. But they rested. They observed God’s Sabbath. Even though they didn’t know it yet, they were practicing the fourth commandment: remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8).
Observing a Sabbath time is not being lazy. It is a day of resting and remembering that all good things come from God. It is a day to reconnect with God; a day to refocus on God; a day to witness to the world that there are other things even more important than work and labor. It is a day to remember that there are other things beside hurried activity and constant work. It is a day to remember that we work to live, not live to work.
As driven as John Wesley was, he nevertheless was adamant about keeping the Sabbath. He believed that the Sabbath was a day of special grace, a day set apart for the good of one’s soul. He wrote, “Spend this day as thou hopest to spend that day which never shall have an end.” (“A Word to a Sabbath-Breaker” Wesley’s Works. Vol. XI. Page 165-166).
Today, we’re not talking about taking a Sabbath. We’re talking about sloth, about being lazy. There is a difference. Laziness is everything that a Sabbath is not.
Laziness is self-centered, arrogant, and unloving. One of the first things I learned in my child development classes in college was that babies and small children assume that the world revolves around them. This is not very profound. It is something every new parent learns very quickly. When they are hungry, they want to be fed. When they are wet, they want to be changed. When they are cold, they want to be covered up. When they hurt, they want to be comforted. It doesn’t matter to them what you are doing, what time of day it is, or what else is going on in your life at that particular moment. They insist that their needs come first. That’s just how it is for babies. That is how they are supposed to act.
But adults are supposed to act differently. I think that laziness in adults is perhaps a symptom of arrested development because the lazy one still thinks that it is all about him or her. It’s terribly arrogant.
If you are lazy, loving someone else is the last thing on your mind. By definition, loving others means putting their needs ahead of your own. A lazy person never learns to fully love others because he or she never learns that there is more to life than self-interest and self-promotion. Because he or she believes that it is all about him or her, a lazy person will not expend the energy to do the hard and essential work of loving others.
Do you want some examples? Lazy persons will sometimes allow the love in their marriages to sputter and wilt because they won’t take the time or make the effort to do the necessary work to keep that love alive. Sometimes, the love that one feels for his or her church diminishes. The lazy person will not take the time to try to understand the problems, work through the hardships, find solutions, and rekindle the joy. They find it easier to take the wide road and opt out of their personal responsibilities.
A lazy person will allow a breached friendship to split wide open into an bottomless chasm of anger, fear, and distrust, instead of making the decision to do the hard work necessary to restore the relationship.
Lazy people avoid responsibility to intentionally care about others. Do you want some more examples? There are hungry people in this community. Lazy people don’t care about them. Lazy people won’t pay attention to them.
There are new people moving into this area all the time. Lazy people won’t make the effort to help them feel welcome; won’t take the time to get to know them; won’t make the attempt to help them get acclimated to the community; won’t invite them to church.
There are homeless folks in this community. Lazy people won’t look for ways to care.
There are people in this community, in your very own neighborhood, perhaps right next door…who don’t know Jesus Christ. They don’t know the graciousness of a loving, Christian community. They have not heard the gospel of love nor have they ever witnessed that gospel in action. The lazy person doesn’t care. The lazy person will avoid the responsibility to witness and model the Christian life.
A lazy person is timid, hesitant, and sluggish in his or her spiritual growth. Spiritual laziness kicks in when the road to spiritual formation becomes difficult or demanding. Spiritual laziness refuses to push on through the dry seasons. Everyone, at one time or another, has periods when he or she just doesn’t seem to connect with God. Everyone has periods when his or her prayers don’t seem to rise any higher than the ceiling. Everyone has times in his or her life when faith makes no sense. Everyone has times when the Bible doesn’t seem to hold any meaning.
The lazy person gives up. The lazy person won’t do the hard work. The lazy person doesn’t care enough about his or her spiritual growth to keep on pushing, keep on seeking, keep on praying anyway. The lazy person is one who refuses to seek help…from a trusted friend, from a pastor, from devotional readings and spiritual exercises, through worship and Christian education.
The result of the spiritually lazy person is that he or she becomes listless and unable to catch a glimpse of the sun through the storm clouds. He or she is unable to trust God in all things. He or she is prevented from growing in faith and grace.
Sloth, laziness is one of the traditional seven deadly sins. It separates us from our own potential, from the love of those around us, and most importantly from the grace and love of God which is poured out for all of us.
This is Lent. It is a good time to confess our sin of laziness. It is a good time to put that sin behind us. It is a good time to commit ourselves to a life lived to the fullest, each minute, each hour, each day.
