“Sinners and Saints: Laziness” Deuteronomy 6:4-19 • James 4:1-17 First Presbyterian Church, Corpus Christi, TX Rev
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“Sinners and Saints: Laziness” Deuteronomy 6:4-19 • James 4:1-17 First Presbyterian Church, Corpus Christi, TX Rev. Charles S. Blackshear • July 28, 2019 What’s the laziest thing you’ve ever done? Proverbs 19 has something very similar: Think about that for a moment. People were “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle recently asked that question and here are some person will suffer hunger.” And Ecclesiastes 10 of their responses. One person admitted to says, “Through sloth the roof sinks in, and ordering underwear from Amazon with next through indolence (or laziness) the house day delivery because he was too lazy to wash leaks.” clothes. Another person ordered a pizza to be In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the familiar delivered. Not because she was hungry but parable of the talents. A man is going on a long, because she didn’t have any paper towels and extended trip. So he calls together his servants she knew the pizza would come with napkins. A and entrusts them to manage his finances while college student’s parents bought him a new he’s gone. They are not all put in charge of the desk chair for his apartment. He was too lazy to same amount but they are each in charge of put it together and instead just sat on the box. some of it. The first two actively manage the For many people today, laziness is portfolio and return a decent profit. But the something they are proud of. We have furniture third one simply hides the money. When the called a “Lazy Boy.” As the saying goes, hard master returns he asks them to account for how work can often pay off in the future. But they managed the money. The first two report laziness always pays off right now! Maybe you on their earnings and the master says, “Well are skilled at doing nothing, or at least are done, good and faithful servant.” And because practicing regularly. Laziness is defined as an they have proven that they can be trusted to unwillingness to work or to use energy. The manage money well they will be given greater idea is that you are able but you just don’t want responsibilities. The third servant, the one who to and so you don’t. You think, I should go hid the money, returns the principal to the mow the grass. Then you think of all the master. The master then calls him a “wicked reasons NOT to do it. But the real reason you and slothful servant.” Why? Because the servant don’t is because you just don’t want to. That’s knew what was expected of him and didn’t do laziness. it. Now this might surprise you. That’s not And in 2 Thessalonians 3, the Apostle Paul necessarily sinful. In fact, the deadly sin is tells the Thessalonians to avoid anyone who actually a word we don’t use much these days – claims to be a believer but won’t do their part. sloth. Slothfulness is more than just laziness. It He writes, “Now we command you, brothers, in includes apathy and carelessness, and half- the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you hearted effort. Sloth is a refusal to do what keep away from any brother who is walking in should be done. Slothful people may actually be idleness and not in accord with the tradition very busy. But they’re not doing what they that you received from us. For you yourselves should. know how you ought to imitate us, because we Scripture, in a number of places, warns us were not idle when we were with you, nor did about the dangers of slothfulness. Proverbs 6 we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, says,” How long will you lie there, O sluggard? but with toil and labor we worked night and When will you arise from your sleep? A little day, that we might not be a burden to any of sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the you. It was not because we do not have that hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you right, but to give you in ourselves an example to like a robber, and want like an armed man.” imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not loving God with all your heart, soul, and might. willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear But if pride is the source of the sin, sloth is what that some among you walk in idleness, not busy keeps you there. Sloth is what keeps you from at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we doing what you need to do to grow in the command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ-like virtues and get rid of the deadly sins Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their in your life. own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow James chapter 4 is a great summary of weary in doing good.” everything we have learned over the last seven The virtue that is contrary to sloth is weeks because all seven of the deadly sins are diligence or industry. Those are both ways of mentioned. Verse 6 says, “God opposes the saying hard work. Diligence is careful and proud but gives grace to the humble. Verse 1 persistent work or effort. It seems to me that mentions quarrels and fights which are linked this virtue is one of the most obvious of the to anger or wrath. Verse 2 says, “You desire and contrary virtues. I think most people know that do not have, so you murder,” which is about the opposite of laziness is hard work. But greed, and it mentions coveting, which is envy. remember that the sins and virtues are really In verse 4 he calls them adulterous, reminding about your heart, not just your actions. So what us of lust, and verse 3 says, “you ask wrongly, to matters is your work ethic. A good work ethic spend it on your passions,” which is another comes from a right understanding that work is way of describing gluttony. So what about good. God created us to work. At the very sloth? What does James say about that? beginning of the Bible we find that God placed Before we answer that, let me ask you, why Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to work, don’t we see more progress in our lives to tending the garden. Work is not a punishment overcome these sinful patterns and replace for sin. It was God’s plan from the beginning. them with godly virtues? Even among those of The difference now is that because of sin work us who are active in the church, why don’t we is a lot harder. see more change? The answer is because we The issue here is the diligence. We are to find it to be too much work. The only way to keep on working. We are to be persistent or really change is to do the things that bring diligent. And our reading from Deuteronomy 6 about the change we desire. Dallas Willard, in tells us what we are to be diligent about. “You his great book, Renovation of the Heart, says shall love the Lord your God with all your heart that transformation requires three things – a and with all your soul and with all your might. clear and compelling vision of what our And these words that I command you today transformed life would be like, the intention or shall be on your heart. You shall teach them decision to change, and then using the means diligently to your children and shall talk of to accomplish it. The means that lead to them when you sit in your house, and when you transformation are what we have been calling walk by the way, and when you lie down, and the spiritual disciplines. These are simply when you rise.” And then it goes on in verse 17, practices that will help you to grow and become “You shall diligently keep the commandments more like Jesus every day. of the Lord your God.” It turns out that the real sin of laziness or You may remember when we started this sloth is knowing that you need to practice these series that we said pride is no only one of the spiritual disciplines and then not doing it. Let seven deadly sins but it is also the root, the me say that again. Sloth is a sin because you source of all the others. Pride is putting your know what you need to do to grow in your faith self, your desires, in the place where God but don’t put out the effort or energy to do it. belongs. It’s loving something else more than James 4:17 puts it like this: “whoever know the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is serving. The goal is not the discipline, the goal sin.” is to be close to Jesus. As James 4:8 says, “Draw So how do we overcome this one? Unlike near to God, and he will draw near to you.” And the other six deadly sins that each have a verse 10: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, particular spiritual discipline to help grow in and he will exalt you.” As you practice these the virtue, the discipline that will help you grow disciplines you will experience God in diligence is the discipline of practicing some transforming you from the inside so that your of the disciplines.