Sloth Part 2: Godly Diligence

Last week we explored the importance of confronting the excuses we make that prevent us from being more fruitful as Jesus followers. However, confronting our excuses doesn’t mean that God is asking us to do more, work harder for longer hours, or strive for perfection or ‘results,’ which can lead to one or more of the following:

• We become diligent about the wrong things, like climbing up a ladder leaning against the wrong wall.

• We become diligent about things in the wrong ways (overwork, bullying)

• We become diligent about things for the wrong reasons (shame, personal glory, fear of judgment…)

In his message about sloth, Charles Montgomery clarified that confronting sloth doesn’t mean staying busy. God commanded that we rest weekly and it’s good that we go on holiday and take time to walk on a nice day. In fact, busyness can be a form of sloth when we’re avoiding challenging things (the mess of our family, our declining health, the overstuffed schedule of our kids, tending to our burnout) as well the good things like investment in the quality of our relationships.

If we feel depressed or stuck in our lives, confronting sloth also doesn’t mean wallowing in shame about our inability to get unstuck. The word ‘diligent’ is from the latin diligere meaning ‘to love,’ ‘to take delight in,’ ‘to value highly.’ So godly diligence must never involve self-condemnation, but should instead reorient our lives around God’s love for us and the gifts he has given to us:

• With courage and recognition of his love, we ask God to address the reasons for the challenges in our own lives: our relationships with our spouses, children, and other family members. We also ask God to address the reasons why we’re not as fruitful as we could be.

• We learn about our gifts. On Sunday 4 June we explored the importance of identifying, asking for, and growing in the spiritual gifts given to us by God. 

• With support from our church, we step out in courage with the gifts he has given us to love and serve our church and community.

When sloth is confronted and godly diligence is cultivated in our lives, the expectation is that we should actually feel less burdened, less anxious, and less busy because our lives grounded in and oriented around his love for us. Providing a significant return on all God has entrusted to us will then be natural, resulting in the words we all want to hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant… Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21)