7 Sneaky Signs of Slothfulness

“Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work. Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!” - Proverbs 21: 25-26

Sloth is the root of apathy. It’s to be moved by nothing. To love …nothing. It reminds me so much of the recent phenomenon of the ‘nones,’ a category of people who don’t believe in anything. The ESV Global Study Bible explains, “Laziness leads to constant greed and craving. The diligence of the righteous allows them to be generous.” Sloth is the antithesis of Hebrews 12:2, which encourages:

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” 

Proverbs 10:4 reads, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Growing up in the ’90s, we would label the lazy as slackers, and I love that this verse draws the concept out so clearly. Godly diligence isn’t rooted in what we ‘do.’ Our faith is built on grace, which is free. We don’t have to do anything to earn it. Our lives are evidence of the fruit of that grace, which changes our motivations by the sanctifying work of the Spirit. The ESV Global Study Bible explains, “The diligent is another name applied to the wise. The gift of persistence is the Lord’s primary means of providing for his people’s material needs …an attitude of diligence comes from the fear of the LORD.” 

Apathy is the absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. The sin of sloth removes our motives and replaces them with a meh emoji. Christianity isn’t based on works, what we do or don’t do, but the fruit of our lives makes who we follow evident. 

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“Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.” - Proverbs 12:27

The sneaky sin of sloth temps us to leave things unfinished. Whether it’s a job, chore, goal, budget, or relationship, a slothful perspective convinces us that finishing it well isn’t worth our time or even possible. Procrastination is putting something off, and often, we assume it only applies to the beginning of a task. But how many things have we left undone or walked away from? “Quiet quit” is a term that has become popular for describing how we walk away from jobs, people, and tasks without even addressing why. Instead, we ‘ghost’ people and situations without explaining why we are giving up. 

“Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.” - Proverbs19:24

Isn’t that a picture of procrastination? Of sloth? Of laziness? So often in life, we are blind to the solutions that lie before us because we are too stubbornly blinded to remember grace. Grace reminds us to look to the One who has promised to make all things work out for our good when we lack a solution. The apostle John wrote, 

“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.” - John 13:1

Jesus knew the outcome of his earthly life, but he didn’t quit. Our goal on earth is to be like Him and follow His lead. We can’t see things from the proper perspective without Jesus, let alone try to forge our own paths and solutions. Walking with Jesus means just that. Instead of quitting …we lean into Him for the next step, the strength we need, and the knowledge to live in a way that brings glory to God. 

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” - Hebrews 12:2

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“The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road!
     Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”
As a door swings back and forth on its hinges,
     so the lazy person turns over in bed.
Lazy people take food in their hand
     but don’t even lift it to their mouth.
Lazy people consider themselves smarter
     than seven wise counselors.” - Proverbs 26: 13-16

We are masters at avoiding things by silencing the notifications on our phones and negating to commit to what we fear might limit us from doing what we want. Avoidance stays away from things, people, and tasks. I believe a lack of holy fear causes us to fear the work we need to do sometimes. When we can’t see how something will fit into our lives, we tend to avoid it with excuses, exaggerated risks, and denial. 

Denial is akin to lying. In essence, the sin of sloth causes us to lie to ourselves and others, even to deny the power of God at work in our lives. Remember, grace is a gift from God. Our efforts don’t do anything to gain or lose grace. It’s free. Sloth can cause us to avoid the very blessings God has given us. Like walking around with blinders on, we may be walking in blessing but be unable to see it. 

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“Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.” - Proverbs 20:4

The sin of sloth may cause us to demand our own schedule and become self-absorbed. Things we assume would be obvious to spot and easy to avoid. To be aloof creates emotional distance and avoids being attached to interests in things, jobs, people, and even hobbies. Sloth can slow us to a complete stop, but we were made to move! Scripture tells us there is a time for everything:

“A time to search and a time to quit searching.
     A time to keep and a time to throw away.
 A time to tear and a time to mend.
     A time to be quiet and a time to speak.” - Ecclesiastes 3:6-7

God’s timing is perfect. He promises that when we search for Him, we will find Him. Sometimes, I can look back at my life and see my aloofness to look for Him! But in His goodness, faithfulness, and never-ending compassion for us, He meets us when we realize we have forgotten Him and is glad! In His perfect time, this happened: 

“For a child is born to us,
     a son is given to us.
 The government will rest on his shoulders.
     And he will be called:
 Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” -  Isaiah 9:6

Missed opportunities are hard to catch up on. Looking back allows us to learn and grow from the mistakes we have made, the hard things we have survived, and the opportunities we have missed. Sloth will convince us to get stuck back there instead of moving forward as we were designed to, ever learning and growing from the past as we walk into our future. 

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“A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.” - Proverbs 18:9

Laziness may not be literally shattering things around us, but it is just as destructive. In marriage, a spouse who is neglected often experiences physical pain as a result of the emotional abuse. Neglect is doing nothing. Laziness doesn’t do much. We don’t expect it to be so destructive, but it is. It destroys opportunities, livelihoods, relationships, and our health. The Apostle Pau wrote: 

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” - Philippians 2:3-5

Aiming to be humble is doing something. Actively thinking of others keeps us from being idle and turned inward – the ode of selfishness. Looking out for ourselves isn’t a bad habit, but it is destructive when it overtakes all other things. When our priorities are in line, God – marriage- family – friends -job, etc., we protect ourselves from selfishness. Again, grace is a gift, but our salvation doesn’t put our lives on autopilot. We still have to participate, and we are still living in a fallen world full of sin that still affects us. Seeking God with all our hearts curbs some of the destructive consequences of that sin.

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“A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape.” - Proverbs 19:5

We live in a world that prides itself on bending the truth and hiding mistakes. Camouflaged by the highlight reel of social media, we have become immersed in a sea full of exaggerated circumstances and half-truths. God wants us to see Him, ourselves, and others through the lens of complete truth. “Verse 5 stresses the importance of honest testimony,” the ESV Global Study Bible explains, “In this context, which focuses on poverty and misfortune, ‘false witness’ could relate either to those who exploit the poor in the courts or to poor people who give false testimony in return for money …a false witness is someone who testifies dishonestly against another person.” 

The sneaky sin of sloth can make us lazy where truth is concerned. We may repaint our reality to benefit ourselves rather than look at it fully and accurately. Paul wrote, 

“Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.” - Phil 3:12

Liars. That’s pretty much what Paul is saying there! Watch out for people who may believe what they are saying is true but, in fact, is a lie. Don’t get caught up in their intentionality; instead, look to see if they are mature. Scripture tells us to pay attention and make sure the things people say to us align with the truth in His Word. 

“Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” - Ephesians 4:23-24

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“A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers but the path of the upright is an open highway.” - Proverbs 15:19

Exhaustion is being drained of strength and energy. When we find ourselves worn out, it could be a sign of the sneaky sin of sloth. Rest is essential for our sanity. Spiritual growth is stunted when we neglect to rest in the Lord, spending time with Him in prayer and His Word. Grace is a free gift that allows us to experience the incredibly close relationship we can have with God through Jesus. Quiet time should not be another task we add to our list of things to check off, but something we look forward to resting in. The sneaky sin of sloth distracts us, causing us to mismanage our time, possibly working very hard, just at the wrong things or the right things in the wrong order. Meditating on the following verses can help us remember to rest in Him. 

“I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.” - Psalm 85:8

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” - Psalm 46:10

Sloths are cute animals, and we marvel at how slowly they move. Moving slowly is okay if we listen to the Lord’s lead. Sloth is only one sin of so many we battle daily. There’s no condemnation if we find ourselves guilty of these things. God, in His grace, allows us to see and turn from these behaviors so that we can enjoy a deeper fellowship with Him. 

When I’m out running in the morning, and it starts to become too hard, I’ve tried to instill the following habits of reaction. First, I immediately smile and remind myself I’m grateful to be running after so many struggles with injury. Two, I say, “More of You, less of me." To run to bring glory to myself is futile, like anything else we do. But, if I am purposeful to yield to God, I find myself enjoying everything …not just running …more. When we become aware, by the power of the Holy Spirit to alert us, of sin in our lives, we don’t need to run and hide from God or feel ashamed. We simply need to take a deep breath, smile and remind ourselves of the free gift of grace, and allow God to help us turn from whatever is ailing us, so we can bring glory to Him. There is joy in the realizing and the turning, too. 

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