Sloth

Before this class I had never thought of sloth as being a vice.  Also before this class I didn't know what sloth really meant.  I always thought of sloth as just being lazy; sitting on the couch all day and never doing anything productive.  Now that I have read chapter 4 of Glittering Vices I have a whole new perspective on this vice.  It turns out that sloth is not just being lazy.  Sloth is actually a spiritual vice.  Laziness is one of sloth's symptoms, along with busyness or over-working.  Many people would probably think of being busy or a "workaholic" as being the opposite of sloth but it is actually just as related to sloth as laziness.  In our day in time we often think of being a workaholic as a good thing; we most definitely think it is better than being lazy but really it is not.  As I said before, sloth is a spiritual vice, it threatens our relationship with God.  The slothful person resists putting in the effort to change from their old ways to having a new identity in Christ.  We must express our love for God each day.  DeYoung says on page 88, "Instead of rejoicing at God's presence in us, the slothful chafe at it and resent the claims that God's love makes on them."  The slothful reject seek fulfillment in other things besides a relationship with God.  I think this is where we come to associate laziness with sloth.  The slothful resist the work it takes to transform into a new self.  This work is not always physical effort.  The slothful person wants what he wants without having to change.  "They find detachment from the old selfish nature too difficult, painful and burdensome, so they neglect to perform the actions that would maintain and deepen relationships of love" (91).  The sloth wants God's love without the sacrifice and ongoing struggles.  One suggestion of a remedy for sloth that DeYoung gives is to stay committed in our daily disciplines even when we don't feel like it.  We will always feel urges to give up but we need to stay the course and stay committed.  She also says to face our sources of resistance rather than trying to find the easy way out.


Our disciple was to make a log of everything we do every 15 minutes for 24 hours.  Here is my log:


12:00pm - 12:45  Class
1:00 - 1:30  Lunch
1:45  Walk to lab
2:00 - 4:00  Lab
4:15  Walk back to room
4:30   Get ready for practice
4:45-5:00  Dinner
5:15 - 6:30  Practice
6:45  Get ready to lift weights
7:00 - 8:15  Lift weights
8:30  Drink protein shake
8:45  Nothing
9:00  Shower
9:15 - 10:00  Homework
10:15 - 11:30  Play guitar
11:45  Go to bed
12:00 - 11:00am  Sleep
11:15  Shower
11:30  Get ready, put clothes on
11:45-12:00  Lunch




This discipline showed me that I am a pretty busy person, maybe too busy.  I think I might fall into that category of the workaholic.  Although I do pray at night before I go to bed and throughout the day, I think I could maybe do a little more to strengthen my relationship with God.  I think we are all guilty of trying to find the easy way out sometimes and not always doing what's best for our relationship with God.  After reading this chapter and doing the discipline I definitely look at sloth differently and will try to do some things differently in my life so that I put in more work and effort in my relationship with God.