Sloth vs Diligence

Sloth vs Diligence

   Day three takes us to the Deadly Sin of Sloth and the Heavenly Virtue of Diligence. I picked them today because it was a bit of a push to do the blog today so as I started it was more of sloth but then came the virtue of diligence and the typing began. 

    When I think of sloth, I think of someone just laying around not doing anything just shifting the pillow around or turning from on side to the other on the sofa. Then again I looked up the definition and found some other aspects of sloth that I did not even think of at all. Sloth is defined as spiritual or emotional apathy, neglecting what God has spoken, and being physically and emotionally inactive. Sloth can also indicate a wasting due to lack of use, concerning a person, place, thing, skill, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement, or support to continue to exist. This has expanded my view of the sloth in my own life. I never saw it as if I was wasting my gifts or talents, if I was not actively  supporting them. If God asks of me and I just nod and go about my day and not work on or do what I feel God was asking then that is sloth. It is removing the desire, want and action of living the life that has been placed before me. If we are not actively working at or on then we can be putting the sin of sloth in our lives. I bet many of us never knew wasting the talents and gifts from God would be sloth.  We need to be not only active physically but also mentally and spiritually to avoid sloth. 

     Diligence is the exact opposite of Sloth. It is when we are earnest and persistent in the undertaking of a task and we are attentive to give proper attention and care. This not only applies to tasks and work but to people and God and what God asks of us. We need to working physically, mentally and spiritually each day. It will require us to be active in prayer, grow our knowledge and take the time to actively listen. We need to be participants in our lives and not just take a seat on the sidelines and watch others. Whatever we are called to do or be , we must go after it and not wait and see if it comes to us. If we are not active we will just lay around and waste away. Our dream, God’s dreams for us, will slowly die and we will not even realize it because we become complacent and sloth will make its home in us. It is harder to jump back to life when it takes hold and remains. Each day we need to fight of sloth with diligence. It can just be small things each day, as longs as it is something that is actively using our body, minds or spirit. 

     We need to be active in our lives and work each day to help build ourselves up. The higher and stronger we build ourselves we keep sloth at bay. Diligence is more then just hard work, it is a life choice. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and seek and be diligent in your life today.