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"I passed by the field of the slothful, by the vineyard of one with no sense. It was all overgrown with
thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall broken down" Prov. 24:30-31.
Each of our moral lives involves the effort of acquiring good habits called virtue. Virtue opens us to good
actions; we act in accordance with our dispositions and so to overcome the seven deadly sins we need the
work of acquiring good habits.
With strong virtues, a person is able to do the right thing despite the difficulties involved and how he feels
about it. Just as the other deadly sins contribute to our weakening, so the vice of sloth destroys the virtue of
charity. Many of us associate sloth with physical laziness and true that sloth shows itself in laziness,
procrastination, idleness and indifference. However in our Faith, sloth is something more than mere
laziness; sloth becomes a spiritual illness when it shows itself in an indifference to bettering our character,
a distaste for spiritual things, lukewarmness and the failure to cultivate virtue. Sloth really has to do with
giving into hopelessness and loss of meaning which than manifests itself in a lack of concern for oneself
and one's neighbour. In fact the word sloth comes from a Greek word meaning negligence.
St. Thomas Aquinas emphasizes sloth's unhappiness with the demands of love. The slothful person wants
to do nothing. He simply indulges his sorrow in a life that neglects the pursuit of happiness; the root of
despair is to be found in sloth and the person fails to believe in God's loving concern about him. Sloth can
so oppress a person that he neglects his duties and fails to want God's will in his life.
Sloth is the primary way we sin against God's individual love for us because it goes so far as to refuse the
joy that comes from God and to be repelled by the goodness and even the grace of God. Our Lord had
some harsh words about those who are lukewarm and indifferent to duty: "But because thou are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth" Rev. 13:5.
The life and teaching of Jesus lends no support to the slothful person. When our Lord was twelve years
old, He answered His distraught parents who worried so much about His safety and so overjoyed to find
Him that the answer He gave to them: "I am about my Father's business" Lk 2:49. Then, for eighteen
years, Jesus worked as a manual laborer so that our Lord began His public life with calloused hands; His
entire life, in His own words, was spent not in receiving but in giving: "The Son of Man is not come to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life as a redemption for many" Mt. 19:6. Jesus Christ
earned the right to teach the necessity of work and if we have any illusions that any other work is more
important that the saving of souls, than remember His words: "Labour not for the meat which perishes, but
for that which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you"
It is important to realize that many people including Catholics, justify themselves by saying that they need
only faith in Christ to save their souls but He who worked so hard for the redemption of humanity came not
to dispense His followers from the work of their salvation; the servant is not above the master.
So how does one overcome sloth? One does by stimulating our hearts for a love of genuine goodness. You
cannot attain diligence and perseverance if you don't have a desire for it. So if the slothful person is lacking
in desire, so he must increase the desire first, by praying for the grace and not just once but often and
secondly by living a spiritual life. To read a book about the Catholic Faith, the life of a saint or watching
biographies, or movies about the Faith that will stimulate a person to want to better live a Christ-centered
life.
Another way to overcome sloth is to consider all the evils occurring in the country and the Church and ask:
"Do I want to contribute to the ongoing evil in the world or help to increase the total goodness happening
today?" Many of us fail to realize that our ongoing pursuit of remaining attached to our bad habits,
addictions or ego contribute to the weakening of God's influence, not only over ourselves, but our family,
neighbour and the rest of the Church. To contemplate the sadness of men today who do not know God and
who do not want to know God should stimulate the heart to want greater goodness from ourselves and set
us on the straight and narrow to increase diligence and struggle against sloth.
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Sloth is the loss of our spiritual security in life, and just like the recovering alcoholic, one needs to be
committed to an apostolate: the recovering alcoholic or drug addict needs to reach out to someone who still
suffers and needs an example so as to better himself and free himself from his addiction. So the slothful
person needs to commit to finding meaning in life by helping others; doing good for another is self
rewarding. To contribute to the benefit of one's life especially the spiritual life and the needs of our
neighbour whether they are family, friends or a stranger is rewarding because we are responding to that
innate need that God has programmed into each of us and we are further cooperating with His holy will.
Which leads me to also address the extreme of slothfulness and that is workaholism.
The workaholic is defined as one who regards work as more fun than fun. It is not to be confused with
working hard and being diligent in one's vocation or profession; rather the workaholic is addicted to the
work, to the point that he or she is always occupied with it. The workaholic will avoid fun or simple leisure
because he may see it is as something beyond his control; he can't regulate it or contain it. It is
unmanageable because it is often unpredictable and so the workaholic will avoid it all together.
The workaholic or any person addicted to a particular pattern of behaviour becomes too dependent upon the
addiction in ways that detract from other responsibilities, such as being with family, taking care of the
home, developing a good relationship with one's children or friends. Workaholism often masks a deeper
fear of failure and the workaholic derives his identity and self-worth from what he does and how much he
does, to the point of neglecting health, relationships and the salvation of his soul.
Since there is less of a social stigma attached to workaholism, than to other addictions, so the problem often
goes undetected especially by the workaholic, who denies the problem and believes that he just needs to
work hard.
The country of Japan has finally recognized that workaholism is a serous issue amongst its citizens that has
led to early deaths especially on the job. So we as a nation are not the only one's suffering from this
addiction.
A person can be a workaholic, not only in profession, but also in hobbies, exercise, housework,
volunteering or just trying to save the world. The solution for the workaholic to overcome his need and
addiction is first to pray often to overcome it and cooperate further with God's grace and get away from the
compulsive idea that His value before God and man is more activity and work but the second means is to
appreciate the value of leisure; to abstain from activity and enjoy repose, to abstain from exertion and to
leave the everyday functions to celebrate a feast day or an important time in one's life or the history of the
Church or the country. To enjoy leisure is an important part of the Christian life and, unfortunately, in
North America it is the opposite; one's value is determined by one's activity and how much you do. Today
there is no time set aside for a day off and no wonder many people burn out or become addicted to
something so as to look for an unhealthy distraction because our value is measured by how much we do.
This is an important exercise for the workaholic: to use time and set it aside so as to develop and increase
one's relationships with others and end the addiction of always turning in on oneself and becoming, in a
subconscious way, selfish and self-absorbed. That time set aside to escape from what is everyday
especially contributes and helps to nourish one's spiritual life, which is paramount and primary, so as to
better heal because when our souls are sick with sin and addiction and do not possess the life of God
through grace, than it always affects other aspects of one's life and eventually it takes its toll on the
workaholic and others. To give time to things other than work and to seek a balance in life is as much a
goal for all of us as is the desire to work hard, keep order in life and striving to be a better example.
So, in the end, for both the slothful person and the workaholic, we need the grace of God and to admit that
we need Him and all that He has given to us so that each may live according to His will. To admit that we
are powerless and that a greater power than ourselves will restore us to sanity and balance. To ask for the
grace of perseverance and to increase diligence by willing to make concrete steps to recover and wanting to
enjoy life and freedom from the burdens which we have put upon ourselves hoping that this will finally
solve our need to love and want to be loved.