02.08.10
Stewardship: the Sloth
The idea of Biblical Stewardship is old school. No one in our culture actually thinks that everything that they have–from: resources, health, gifts, children to- time, money, and relationships– aren’t their possessions! And the truth is–all is from our Creator God. The notion that we are “managers” of God’s stuff is laughable to most people.
Yet, the Bible calls us to Stewardship. The responsibility to care for everything is to reflect God’s goodness. What a joy to be able to see Christ in everything and respond with worshipful stewardship!
Reading through scripture, we find that few actually are Godly stewards. We squander, hide, resent, ignore, obsess, control, and basically rebel against God’s lavish gifts. He calls us to worship Him. Stewardship is an avenue in which we can express to him our gratitude for realizing his provision.
There are several categories where sin shows up in the way we engage with stewardship. Firstly, the Sluggard or the Sloth. Throughout God’s word, we see these people rebuked for their idle behavior.
The sin of sloth can invade even the busiest life. In fact, it tends to infect lives that are too busy, full of too many things. Though we tend to lump sloth with laziness, it isn’t necessarily physical idleness. It’s more of an attitude, a spiritual idleness. The Latin term for it was acedia, which means “not caring.” Slothful people might well run around doing everything or lie around doing nothing. The core problem, either way, is that they feel nothing. Down deep, they don’t care. Sloth can be expressed both as do-nothingness– or extreme busyness that covers up the apathy within so that person doesn’t have to face its core cause. -Ellen Vaughn
The soul of a sluggard craves and get nothing while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. Proverbs 13:4
As you read this, are you asking yourself, “Huh–Am I dadgumb sloth?” or maybe you already know that you are tempted in these ways. The sloth is apathetic and sometimes masks it with busyness so we don’t catch on to the idleness in his/her heart.
The sloth can repent! However, behavior may change, but the heart is what matters most. Pray that as God sees your (our) hearts, he would see a heart that is diligent and responding in worship with work. The good news is that Jesus can redeem these sloth-like tendencies and as we are being conformed to His image, we are rescued by His grace.