Sloth

A lot of times, whether it is simply a quiet day with little going on or my actual day off, I tend to feel the same inclination: I feel like I need to be doing something. It is an almost guilty feeling. I know I am not alone in this, too; a lot of people wrestle with this feeling when things quiet down. We start to feel like we are being lazy simply because we are not working. Many people might even accuse themselves of being slothful. 

However, downtime and sloth are not the same things. “Acedia,” which is the original word for one of the 7 Deadly Sins often translated as “sloth,” is more precisely translated as apathy, particularly in relation to the spiritual life and one’s relationship with God. The “slothful person” is not necessarily a lazy person but instead is one who has become lukewarm in their faith, has become indifferent to it. One image that has been used is that of a river compared to a lake. A river has well-defined borders and therefore moves quickly and enthusiastically; a lake, however, has none of that and thus spills out and just sits there. The image points to the person having turned away from their disciplined religious practice and thus they have fallen into this state of apathy. It is laziness of the soul that then leads to the fire of charity dying.

As you can tell, this is clearly different from having the occasional quiet, or even “lazy,” afternoon. Having a day off with nothing to do can be a good thing, if done (as with all things) in moderation. In fact, the whole point of the Sabbath rest (the Lord’s Day), is to serve as a reminder that we are created for relationship and love, not for work. Work is a means to an end, not an end in itself. As we come out of the summer season and come back to our “normal routine,” it is worth remembering to not beat ourselves up for taking a day off and having some fun. Take some time to rest and allow God to refresh you that you might then all the more effectively carry out the mission that God has entrusted to you.