Overcomers of - Sloth

Today, we feel tired and hesitant before going to the cupboard where secret sins are stored away, out of view. On the fourth shelf is a tiny box. We open it and see tiny slips of paper. We look at the name on the outside and shove it back into the cupboard. "Sloth" is written in tiny, sloppy letters as if someone was too lazy to even label the container correctly. 

Slothfulness and sloth - two words hardly ever used today! And certainly not in polite company. When was the last time you heard that word, and not talking about an animal? We value people whose schedules are so full that it's a privilege to get even a bit of their time. Still, there is a temptation to let things go, to stay away from hard and honest work. Procrastination sometimes gets the better of us. (Hint: I think this is a temptation that targets males, not women. Most of the verses in the Bible about sloth fit the male personality!)

"Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry." Proverbs 19:15

"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!" Proverbs 19:24

"A sluggard does not plow in season, so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing." Proverbs 20:4

"The sluggard's craving will be the death of him because his hands refuse to work." Proverbs 21:25

"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside!' or, 'I will be murdered in the streets.'" Proverbs 22:13

Jesus told the story of a man who received one talent, and he hid it. That is a picture of slothfulness.

Paul told lazy people in Thessalonica that they should get to work. "For while we were with you, we gave you this rule, 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.'" 2 Thessalonians 3:10

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for enough for today, for home, family, friends, and my community. I praise you for opportunities, work, and motivation to get up each day knowing you are leading me forward. I need to learn new skills, new vocabulary, new ways of doing things, and for these, I trust your grace. I thank you that in you, I find our sufficiency. In you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me."