Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
March 2, 2012

“Fending Off Attacks!” (Slothfulness)
“Above all else, guard your heart….it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23

In the original list of the “passion-thieves” we have been discussing, there were only six mentioned in that list. I have been re-thinking my list and have decided to include one more. And here is the reason why.
Most of you have probably heard of, the Seven Deadly Sins. They are also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, a classification of objectionable vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. The final version of the list consists of wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
When you look at this list there are a number of things that stand out—and why they are “deadly” sins. What you come to realize is how they destroy (kill) relationships! Wrath (anger) leads to or is a result of bitterness and bitterness will destroy a relationship over time. Greed is an attitude that seeks to take more than it is willing to give. Over time it will destroy. Pride puts itself above others. Cares more about itself than others. It destroys. Lust wants what it cannot have. When lust is allowed to remain it will eventually destroy. Envy resents what others have. The longer it is allowed to linger it will destroy. Gluttony does not know when to quit. It kills the person which in turn destroys
relationships. So where does “sloth” fit in? There are a couple of ways this “attitude” is defined. One, Sloth is defined as “spiritual or emotional apathy, neglecting what God has spoken, and being physically and emotionally inactive.” Second, 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.” Jesus addressed this issue when one day He was asked this question: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one” answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
I’ve always considered the most important word in Jesus’ answer is the word, “All!” When it comes to the Kingdom life there is no room for a partial existence. A half-hearted relationship. Slothfulness is in my opinion destroying the work-ethic in America. Too many doing “just enough” to get by. We were in a restaurant not long ago and it was the last time we have been to that particular establishment. Our “server” was more concerned with talking with her friends than she was taking care of business. I am not a demanding person but there was a lot of “neglect” taking place. And we are seeing that far too often! On the opposite end, we went to another local restaurant just about a week ago and I don’t know if it was the manager or the owner, but he was all over the place and not just one but several workers came by our table to check on our needs. That is something I appreciate and will patronize that establishment willingly. It is unfortunate that this kind of service is becoming less frequent. But here is the question: who is to blame? The consumers—accepting less than what they should be receiving? Or the establishments—not demanding more out the workers?
This also carries over into our relationships and why slothfulness is a destructive “Passion-Thief.” It is because too many are willing to accept or give a half-hearted effort when it comes to serving God and/or the Church. Jesus did not say to love with some of your heart, soul, mind and strength, but ALL!
The goal is to guard your heart against anything that says, “enough is okay.” If we are not giving our best are we fulfilling the Commandment of Christ?
Pastor J. T. Carnell.