June 24th, 2024
by John Kelley
by John Kelley
As I’m writing this, it’s a Saturday afternoon, and I’m struggling to find the motivation to pack the house. We’re seven days away from moving from Nicholasville to Georgetown. My daily commute will take anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour-and-a-half to 12 minutes. We’re moving from a 1230 sq ft house to a 1950 sq ft house. We’ll get to be nearer to everyone at Leesburg and get more involved in the community. We’ll be leading a community group (small group) from our home when they kick off this fall. The kids will be getting plugged into their new schools and begin attending with some of the kids from Leesburg. I should be excited about packing up this house and getting everything up there, but I just can’t do it. I’m not saying I haven’t been packing, but I don’t want to.
Like most people, getting into the house is the exciting part. Packing up all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the course of 12 years in a house is not. It’s just so much work, and I’m in charge of the garage in the summer when it’s 95 degrees outside and 90 degrees in the garage. It’s miserable!!!! I know. It’s a first-world problem that I’m dealing with, but I’ll claim it. This isn’t the least bit fun. Thankfully, my wife is a packing machine. She’s done most of the house in her spare time, and she’s killing it. When I’m sitting there not wanting to do anything, she’s boxing up the bedroom, the kid’s rooms, the kitchen, the living room…..basically everything. She’s got all of the boxes organized and ready to go. I see what she’s doing, and I feel like a failure.
My wife, Rhea, has a favorite animal. It’s the sloth. The sloth is a slow-moving mammal related to the anteater. They look like they’re smiling most of the time and are genuinely adorable. However, that kind of sloth is NOT what I’m talking about today. I’m talking about the sin I’m dealing with right now…..laziness.
The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
Proverbs 21:25–26
Of the seven deadly sins, this might be the most egregious. Nothing is worse than working with someone who doesn’t want to do their part. At no point throughout scripture do we read of sloth as a positive. As a matter of fact, the Word of God is pretty strong in its indictment of it.
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
2 Thessalonians 3:10
Our society today is all about comfort. It’s all about taking it easy, and, as a society, we have made this bed. During COVID, people were paid more to stay home than what they were making at their jobs. As a result, people got lazy and quit trying to find jobs. Why work when you can stay home and make more? For many jobs today, expectations are being lowered. Bosses and managers can’t rely on people actually showing up to work. Amazon created a process where people were expected to work a certain number of hours, but they could pick out when those hours were and just show up when they felt like it. It was a complete nightmare for managers to know who they would have available from day to day. A friend of mine always says, “Your system is set up perfectly to give you the results you’re getting.” That’s exactly what we’re dealing with today.
But why is that a sin? It really breaks down to a lack of love.
Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:29–31
Since Eden, God has commanded us to work. We are to earn what we have and not expect anything from anyone else. Even in the Ten Commandments, we are told to work and take a single day for rest.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.”
Exodus 20:8–10
To love God and love your neighbor as yourself, we need to follow God’s commands. Not doing so is disobedience and rebellion, which are the opposite of love. Sitting by and watching others do all the work while you are relaxing is not love. It’s considered evil by God. We have a commitment to the Lord and each other. Sloth betrays that love and creates division. No one respects the slothful. Instead, they view them as someone to avoid. They see the lazy as people they can’t trust. Sloth is the antithesis of love. It is selfishness in its highest form.
Remember, our God laid His life down for us, because of love. The least we can do is work hard and serve Him and others with a love of the same intensity.
Like most people, getting into the house is the exciting part. Packing up all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the course of 12 years in a house is not. It’s just so much work, and I’m in charge of the garage in the summer when it’s 95 degrees outside and 90 degrees in the garage. It’s miserable!!!! I know. It’s a first-world problem that I’m dealing with, but I’ll claim it. This isn’t the least bit fun. Thankfully, my wife is a packing machine. She’s done most of the house in her spare time, and she’s killing it. When I’m sitting there not wanting to do anything, she’s boxing up the bedroom, the kid’s rooms, the kitchen, the living room…..basically everything. She’s got all of the boxes organized and ready to go. I see what she’s doing, and I feel like a failure.
My wife, Rhea, has a favorite animal. It’s the sloth. The sloth is a slow-moving mammal related to the anteater. They look like they’re smiling most of the time and are genuinely adorable. However, that kind of sloth is NOT what I’m talking about today. I’m talking about the sin I’m dealing with right now…..laziness.
The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
Proverbs 21:25–26
Of the seven deadly sins, this might be the most egregious. Nothing is worse than working with someone who doesn’t want to do their part. At no point throughout scripture do we read of sloth as a positive. As a matter of fact, the Word of God is pretty strong in its indictment of it.
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
2 Thessalonians 3:10
Our society today is all about comfort. It’s all about taking it easy, and, as a society, we have made this bed. During COVID, people were paid more to stay home than what they were making at their jobs. As a result, people got lazy and quit trying to find jobs. Why work when you can stay home and make more? For many jobs today, expectations are being lowered. Bosses and managers can’t rely on people actually showing up to work. Amazon created a process where people were expected to work a certain number of hours, but they could pick out when those hours were and just show up when they felt like it. It was a complete nightmare for managers to know who they would have available from day to day. A friend of mine always says, “Your system is set up perfectly to give you the results you’re getting.” That’s exactly what we’re dealing with today.
But why is that a sin? It really breaks down to a lack of love.
Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:29–31
Since Eden, God has commanded us to work. We are to earn what we have and not expect anything from anyone else. Even in the Ten Commandments, we are told to work and take a single day for rest.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.”
Exodus 20:8–10
To love God and love your neighbor as yourself, we need to follow God’s commands. Not doing so is disobedience and rebellion, which are the opposite of love. Sitting by and watching others do all the work while you are relaxing is not love. It’s considered evil by God. We have a commitment to the Lord and each other. Sloth betrays that love and creates division. No one respects the slothful. Instead, they view them as someone to avoid. They see the lazy as people they can’t trust. Sloth is the antithesis of love. It is selfishness in its highest form.
Remember, our God laid His life down for us, because of love. The least we can do is work hard and serve Him and others with a love of the same intensity.
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