Sloth in the Valley

Sloth (is) the sin by which we ignore our obligations. Tony Campolo

A reader asks, “How can people claim to have faith in God and lack a desire to read the Bible or go to church?”

I will admit I am not an advice columnist cut from the cloth of either Ann or Dear Prudence.

However, I know my immediate (and quite judgmental) response to the question is to chalk it up to sloth. That’s an old fashioned word for what we call “laziness” today. In fact, Sloth heads the list of the seven deadly sins we sometimes hear about in church – especially during the season of Lent.

I should note here that the word “sin” has fallen out of fashion. I, myself, prefer other ways to describe or talk about sin. Such euphemisms include character defects, faults, shortcomings, and the like. One reason I suspect, is we live in a culture that doesn’t like others to feel too badly about themselves.

Some words also lack meaning in this digital age. We hear the word “sin” and probably conjure up images of people going into those tiny booths in church where they tell the priest what bad things they’ve done, and where the man behind the curtain grants pardon (absolution, in church-speak) and suggests a few spiritual exercises to the penitential party.

The fact is that sin is a technical term used by ancient archers, and simply means to “miss the mark.”

Imagine you’re out hunting. You spot a beautiful bull-elk, take careful aim, hold your breath, and just as you prepare to squeeze off a round, your nose itches and you twitch just enough your bullet misses the elk’s heart (the “mark”). Instead, you get a lung shot and have to trail the animal for a couple miles before it succumbs to the wound.

Now you have to haul it further, and it’s suffered longer, so the quality of meat has been degraded. Those are consequences of your “sin.”

You would not be a bad person. No one would accuse you of being evil or cruel. You would simply admit you missed the mark (sinned). It could have been the twitch of the nose; it could have been a twig the bullet grazed while en route to the beast. Having missed the mark, you will make a mental note to ignore nose twitches and watch for things that might deflect bullets in the future. In other words, if you’re wise, you’ll learn from what happened and apply changes in the future.

If, on the other hand, you ignore what happened, you will continue to make the same mistakes, and continue to “sin” – to fall short and miss the mark. The point we need to realize is we’re better than that. We don’t want to be too lazy to learn, too lazy to change, or too lazy to do what we ought to do.

It is quite possible, though, that the spiritual problem we are facing in our culture isn’t sloth as much as the reverse – we’re so busy. We’re too worn out to learn; too worn out to change; too worn out to do what we ought to do. We’ve lost our appetite for Sabbath – the gift of rest.

In other words, we’re not too lazy to go to church; we’re too busy. We’re not too lazy to read our bibles; we’re too busy. When we’re not at school or work, we’re out fishing, hunting, hiking, shopping, taking in ball games, or running to town for dinner and a movie.

We live in a world that craves action and which not only devalues leisure, but considers all those activities the very definition of leisure! I know people who develop a case of hives if they’re immersed in more than thirty seconds of silence; going to church could quite possibly do them in altogether, and yet …

I find church as essential for my spirit as air is for my body. It isn’t the “going” I find essential, but the “being” there that makes the difference. It is a road not taken by everyone, to be sure, but for me, “(it) has made all the difference.” (Frost)

Church is where sinners gather. Ironically, there’s no sin in that. I’m just glad we have many places to renew our spirits when needed here in this, our valley.