Sloth is a sin against God, and not against the time clock or productivity. The fact is that it’s possible to work too much, in a way that's not in keeping with our dignity and ultimate good. The essence of sloth is a failure to fulfill one's basic duties. Surely one such duty is the human vocation to work. Yet another such duty is the enjoyment of leisure, to take time for worship. The gentleman lying on the sofa may be a more popular image of sloth, but the workaholic, who's on the job 24-7 and in the process neglects God and family, is the more typical manifestation of sloth in our culture.
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2 comments:
I think this is some weird catholic compulsion--redefining cardinal sins so they can apply to anything. Nobody worships false idols anymore, so we must needs reinterpret worshiping a false idol until it could mean just about anything. Same thing with, say, murder. No way can we give people a free pass who have not actually killed anyone, ever. If you've stepped on a bug or ever had mildly aggressive thoughts about another driver on the freeway, you're somehow violating the commandment. I am sure that being a workaholic is some kind of sin, but it's not sloth. Sorry. Maybe Lust?
What a great article Jen, thank you for the link. This is definitely something I struggle with at work. There are so many delicious distractions (like going through all of a blog's archives!) that keep me from being faithful on the j-o-b. I'll get back to business now. :)
Tara Sz.
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