Oops! I almost forgot to post my sin of the week. But I have a really, really good excuse (for a change). I got all caught up in the poetry reading I gave last night and forgot all about it. You’d think having written as many poems as I have that it would be a breeze to pick a dozen or so for a reading, but it turns out not all poetry sounds good read out loud.
Anyway, it’s a day late but the next sin in the series is the Sin of Sloth, also known as the sin of Idleness. This is a sin of which I am all too familiar with!
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
Ecclesiastes 10:18
The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
Proverbs 21:25
Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas said Sloth is "sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good... [it] is evil in its effect, if it so oppresses man as to draw him away entirely from good deeds."
A slothful person is loose, meaning a waywardness with a view to doing what he wants, since slothfulness is tied to gluttony. Apparently he can be a gossip, having a loose tongue, and can't trusted to be told anything in confidence. He is also deceitful, using lies and deceit in order to get what he wants and to enable him to do only what he wants to do. He appears to be a follower, subjecting himself to other people's rule because he doesn't really think for himself.
The modern view goes further, regarding laziness and indifference as the sin at the heart of the matter. Sloth is often seen as being considerably less serious than the other sins, more a sin of omission than of commission.
Your punishment in Hell will be: You'll be thrown into snake pits.
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If you don’t want to end up in Hell because of your slothful ways, you must practice the Heavenly Virtue of Zeal or Diligence.
Zeal is shown by a diligent and careful nature as proved by one's actions and work. It includes a decisive work ethic, budgeting of one's time; and monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness. It the decision to fulfill all of the responsibilities in your vocation or state in life.
The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God; it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude. It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment. By his deliberate actions, the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience.
Matthew 5:3-12
If you missed them, click on the links to check out Pride and Wrath.
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