Recently, I have had too many projects on my plate to be
able to get them all done. There’s a particular project that is due next week
that I haven’t touched in days. I keep telling myself that I’ll get to it
tomorrow, but then tomorrow comes and goes and I still haven’t done it. Last night I attended a Bible study by Father
Robert Barron covering Sloth and how to combat it. I thought it was quite timely, so I’ll post
some of what I learned last night here.
1) Procrastination is a five syllable word for sloth
When we procrastinate by putting off doing the good things
that we know we need to do, we are presuming on God’s grace. We are assuming that we will have more time,
that we will be given a tomorrow in which to work. We are not promised tomorrow by God. We are not promised another hour, or another
minute. We do not know that we will be
able to do anything later, as we do not know God’s plan for our lives, and so
we should do what needs to be done today - without delay!
2) Sloth leads to drifting away from God
The world is an ocean with a strong current that we must
fight constantly if we want to remain close to God. When we give in to sloth, we stop fighting
that battle. We allow the world to distract
us from what really matters and pursue our own pleasure and our own desires
rather than the things of God. It starts
with slacking off in our prayer life, and can eventually lead to us losing
sight of God altogether if we don’t realize the danger in time.
3) The best way to battle sloth is by discipline and service to others
I fight sloth a lot. I don’t particularly feel like going to
a Bible study some nights. I make the decision, though, to love God more than I
love my comfortable spaces and places and I go anyway. I have learned that forcing myself to do what
I don’t feel like doing is the best way to get past sloth. I accept responsibilities that tie me to the
group, things that I know mean other people are going to be counting on me, so
that the knowledge that I’m disappointing more than just myself drives me
forward when it would be easier to just stay home.
4) Seek God’s mission for your life by asking for Him to reveal it to you
One of the ways that Father Barron recommended fighting
sloth is to seek God’s specific mission for
you for that day. Pray for it to be revealed to you through Scripture,
or by someone coming your way and asking for help. Then do whatever He tells you to do
immediately. Get excited about your purpose,
knowing that you are part of His plan, and understand that you’re the only one
truly equipped for that purpose.
We are all tempted to give in to sloth
from time to time, but we need to recognize that tendency and find a way to get
excited about our faith again rather than allowing ourselves to be carried away
from God by the world. Sloth will always
be there, but we don’t have to give in to it.
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