Diocesan monastery in the name of St. John the Baptist. Novosibirsk city. How to deal with laziness Orthodox
“Idleness, or withdrawal from work,” writes St. Tikhon, “is itself a sin, for it is contrary to the commandment of God, which commands us to eat our bread in the sweat of our brow (Genesis 3:19). Consequently, those who live in idleness and feed on other people's labors will not stop sinning until then, until they give themselves to blessed labors ”(3, 172; 27, 759).
Idleness is sinful not only in itself, but also “it can be the cause of many evils,” for “to an idle heart, only to an idle house, marked and adorned, the enemy devil conveniently approaches. Hence drunkenness, fornication, evil conversations, condemnation, ridicule, slander, blasphemy, card games, deceptions, quarrels, fights, excessive luxury, as Solomon says: in lust there is every idle(Prov. 13, 4) "(27, 759). Idleness harms not only the soul, but also the body. “Those who live in idleness are subject to all sorts of ailments and infirmities, as water is corrupted, which has no flow. A person who does not work cannot take food for sweetness, and sleep without labor is restless. Those who do not want to work from the lower strata “are subject to ridicule and reproach of people” and “are forced to live in poverty and poverty (Prov. 6, 11)” (3, 173). “From this vice, the weak, the aged, and those kept in chains are turned off, whom Christians are obliged to feed together” (4, 226).
In order to avoid idleness and its consequences, one must remember that time is more precious than any treasure, especially for a Christian, as it gives an opportunity (sometimes the last) of repentance, which at the end of earthly life it will be impossible to bring. “Then the time will be judgment, not repentance, severity, not pardon. You should certainly give an answer for the very time that was lost. For the present time is bargaining (Matthew 26:14-30)” (3:173).
“Just as not all labor is useful, so not all idleness is vicious,” says the saint. Not salvific and downright sinful are the labors of those who do wrong: those who steal and take away someone else's, insidious and envious flatterers, merciless usurers. On the contrary, “if there is blissful peace, when the mind from evil and soul-damaging thoughts, the heart rests from the lusts of the evil ones, the eyes do not look at anything, the ears do not listen to anything, the tongue and mouth do not say anything, the hands do nothing that is contrary to God’s holy law” (3, 174; 27, 758). But such peace in reality is labor, to which the saint calls. “Always be in good works, that is: either read books, or pray, or be in contemplation of God, or do some manual work. The enemy approaches no one more conveniently than one who lives in idleness” (27, 759).
Idleness is inevitably followed by despondency. “Luta is this passion,” writes the saint. “She also fights those people who have bread and everything else ready, and especially those who live in solitude” (2, 237). As “inflicted” by the enemy of our salvation in order to turn a Christian back to the “peace,” despondency hinders prayer, closes the heart, preventing it from accepting the word of God, and then God especially expects a feat from a person (27, 1057). In the fight against this passion, “I advise you to repair the following,” the saint writes to one monk. - 1. Convince yourself and compel yourself to prayer and to every good deed, although you do not want to. 2. Diligence will bring variability: either pray, or do something with your hands, or read a book, or talk about your soul and eternal salvation, and about other things. 3. The memory of death that comes unexpectedly, the memory of the Judgment of Christ, eternal torment and eternal bliss drives away despondency. 4. Pray and sigh to the Lord. He helps those who work, not those who lie dormant” (2, 237). “When you succumb to despondency and boredom,” the saint writes elsewhere, “then greater despondency will rise up against you and shamefully marry you out of the monastery. And when you stand against him and win in the prescribed way, then after the victory there will always follow joy, consolation and great spiritual strength; and those who strive always alternate between sorrow and joy” (27, 1057-1058).
Sadness is akin to despondency, and in the works of the saint they are used as synonyms. Christians should not grieve “that they do not have well-being in this world, do not have wealth, glory, reverence, that the world hates, persecutes and embitters them. They should resist this sadness and should not give it a place in their hearts. Rather, rejoice in the fact that they are known not to be children of this world, but God's. “Worldly sorrow” is useless, for it cannot return or give anything of what it mourns.
The saint identifies laziness with both idleness and despondency. It adjoins the first as not doing what should be done (to work both externally and in the soul); to the second - as relaxation, intensifying despondency. To show the perniciousness of laziness, the saint uses the following example. “Lazy and idle farmers,” he writes, “having seen the brethren of their labors, gathering and rejoicing in the fruits of their labors, they grieve, grieve, mourn and curse themselves that they did not work in the summer, and so they have no fruits: so careless Christians, seeing others for the feat of faith and labor, lifted up in piety, blessed and glorified by the Lord, they will weep and mourn inconsolably, and will curse themselves for not wanting to work in a temporary life. Coming from unrepentant sins and the devil, the relaxation of the soul is healed by resisting the temptations allowed by God to fall into laziness (27, 792, 447).
Unhealed in a timely manner, sadness and despondency can lead to despair, which the saint speaks of as an inevitable consequence of a sinful life and a grave sin against the mercy of God (27, 639). But it is precisely through the hope of God's mercy that the saint admonishes, first of all, to resist the thoughts of despair, this "heavy and final blow of the devil." Christian hope is like an anchor that holds a ship in a storm and keeps it from sinking. “When you think about your sins,” says the saint, “think about the mercy of God, which, when you lived in sins and angered God with sins, led you to repentance; does it now desire to destroy you, when you have ceased from sins? In many places of Holy Scripture, a sinner yearning for repentance is encouraged: For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost(Luke 19:10); For God did not send His Son into the world, let the world judge, but let the world be saved by Him(John 3:17)." “God Himself teaches us how it is fitting for us to repent,” the saint continues, recalling the penitential passages in the Psalter. - How ill will he not hear the penitents, Who gave the image, how to repent, ask and pray? On the contrary, Judas, "knowing the majesty of sin, but not knowing the majesty of God's mercy, strangled himself" (27, 640).
Knowing from experience how dangerous the temptation of despair is, the saint again and again calls to resist it. “Fear of despair,” he says, “although it comes from the devil, however, by God’s advice and permission” is allowed for the benefit of the person himself, but “knows the power of sin, God’s wrath against sin and sees how strong the torment of the devil is.” Further, such a “frequent devilish temptation by the most dangerous and skillful (more cautious and experienced - I.N.) creates a Christian” who opposes him. One should not despair because “such thoughts happen not by will, but against our will; For this reason, they are not imputed to us as a sin, ”and they cannot harm the soul. They “humble and contrite the heart, turn away from the world, its vanity and charms, move to heartfelt and fervent prayer”, encourage “to ask God for help and deliverance.” Why “the longer” such a temptation continues, “the more benefit it will bring to the soul” (2, 196-197; 4, 284-285; 6, 325).
Not only should he not lose heart, but rejoice and give thanks to God, he who feels the thoughts of despair in salvation and fights against them. “There is a sign,” writes the saint, “that one is in faith and grace. For the enemy does not fight the one who obeys and works.” “Indeed, everyone complains about these thoughts that seek salvation. Woe to unrepentant sinners. And those who repent and seek their salvation by prayer and faith must expect the mercy of God” (4, 276-284; 6, 319-320; 27, 638-644).
We must now consider those vices which are opposed to the joy of loving things above. This joy is connected either with the divine good, and laziness is the opposite of it, or with the good of the neighbor, and envy is the opposite of it. Therefore, we examine, firstly, laziness and, secondly, envy.
Under the first heading there are four points: 1) whether laziness is a sin; 2) whether it is a special type of vice; 3) whether it is a mortal sin; 4) whether it is a major sin.
Section 1. IS LAZOF A SIN?
With the first [statement] the situation is as follows.
objection 1. It seems that laziness is not a sin - after all, as the Philosopher says, no one deserves either praise or condemnation for passion. But laziness is a passion, since, according to Damascus, it is a kind of apathy, as has already been said (II-I, 35, 8). Therefore, laziness is not a sin.
objection 2. Further, no bodily disorder that occurs at the appointed time is sin. But laziness is something like that, because, according to Cassian, “the monk is overcome by laziness, as a rule, at the sixth hour. It resembles an intermittent fever, which regularly and at the appointed time burns the soul of the subject with fire. Therefore, laziness is not a sin.
Objection 3. Further, that which grows from a good root cannot possibly be sin. But laziness springs from a good root, because, according to Cassian, “laziness gives rise to our sighing that we are deprived of spiritual fruit, because, in our opinion, in other monasteries, and especially in those that are very far away, it is much better than the one we are in,” which seems to indicate humility. Therefore, laziness is not a sin.
Objection 4. In addition, every sin should be avoided, according to what is said [in Scripture]: “Flee from sin, as from the face of a snake” (). But Cassian says that "experience shows that an attack of laziness is overcome not by flight, but by resistance." Therefore, laziness is not a sin.
This is contrary to the following: everything that is forbidden by Holy Scripture is sin. But laziness (acedia) is precisely such, since it is said: “Set it up for her,” that is, spiritual wisdom, “your shoulder and carry it - and do not be burdened (acedieris) by its bonds” (). Therefore, laziness is a sin.
I answer: laziness, according to Damascene, is a depressing sadness, which, so to speak, so burdens the mind of a person that he does not want to do anything (similarly, sour things appear at the same time cold). Therefore, laziness implies some weariness from deeds, as is clear from the gloss on the words [of Scripture]: “Their soul turned away from all food” (), and also from the well-known definition that “slothness is the lethargy of the mind, which does not care for good undertakings."
But such sadness is always evil - sometimes in itself, and sometimes in its consequence. It is evil in itself when it is associated with what appears to be evil, although in reality it is good, which, just as, on the other hand, pleasure is evil when it is associated with what appears to be good, although on the other hand in fact it is evil. And since spiritual good is truly good, sorrow for spiritual good is itself evil. The same sadness that is connected with evil in reality is evil in its effect, if it oppresses a person so much that it distracts him from all good deeds. Therefore, the apostle did not want the repentant to be consumed by "excessive sorrow" ().
Thus, since laziness, as we interpret it in the present case, means sadness due to spiritual good, it is evil in two ways: both in itself and as far as the effect is concerned. Therefore, it is a sin - because it means an evil movement of desire, as is clear from what we said earlier (II-I, 74, 4).
Reply to objection 1. The passions themselves are not sinful, but they can deserve condemnation insofar as they are attached to something evil, just as they deserve praise insofar as they are attached to something good. Therefore, sadness in itself deserves neither praise nor condemnation. but moderate sorrow for evil deserves praise, while sorrow for good, and likewise immoderate sorrow for evil, deserves condemnation. And it is in this sense that laziness is considered a sin.
Reply to objection 2. The passions of sensual desire can either be venial sins in themselves, or they can incline the soul to mortal sin. And since sensual desire has its own bodily organ, it follows that, due to certain bodily changes, a person can become capable of committing some particular sin. . Therefore, it sometimes happens that, due to one or another bodily change taking place at a certain time, a certain one becomes especially urgent. But all bodily effects in themselves can dispose to sorrow; thus, those who fast are overwhelmed by midday laziness, when they are tired of the heat and hunger wakes up in them.
Reply to objection 3. A sign of humility is that a person does not puff himself up, thinking about his sins. But if a person despises the good that he has received from God, then this indicates not humility, but ingratitude, and from this ingratitude laziness grows, because we are sad because of what we consider insignificant and evil. Therefore, we must think about the good of others in such a way that we do not neglect those [benefits] that we ourselves have received, otherwise sorrow will seize us.
Reply to objection 4. Sin must always be avoided, but the attack of sin must be overcome in some cases by flight, and in others by resistance; flight, when prolonged thought increases the desire to sin, as is the case in the case of lust, for which reason [in Scripture] it is said: “Flee fornication” (); resistance when constancy in thought reduces the desire to sin, as when this desire arose from the simplest consideration. This is also the case with laziness, because the more we think about spiritual goods, the more desirable they become to us, and then laziness disappears.
Section 2. Is laziness a kind of vice?
With the second [statement], the situation is as follows.
objection 1. It seems that laziness is not a kind of vice. Indeed, what is common to all vices is not a separate kind of vice. But every vice makes a man apathetic towards the opposite spiritual good; thus, the lustful is saddened by the good of temperance, but the glutton is saddened by the good of moderation. And since laziness, as was shown above (1), is sadness due to spiritual good, then it seems that laziness is not a type of vice.
Objection 3. Further, since the spiritual good is the general kind of object that virtue seeks and vice avoids, it can establish a particular virtue or vice only if it is itself determined by some complement. But it seems that nothing but hard work can lead to laziness, if we consider laziness as a special kind of vice. Indeed, the reason why a person avoids spiritual goods is the difficulty in achieving them, and therefore laziness is a kind of weariness, while hatred of hard work and love of bodily rest seem to stem from the same reasons, namely idleness. Therefore [in such a case] laziness would be only idleness, which seems wrong, since idleness is the opposite of diligence, while laziness is the opposite of joy. Therefore, laziness is not a type of vice.
This is contrary to that Gregory distinguishes laziness from other vices. Therefore, it is a type of vice.
I answer: since laziness is sadness due to spiritual good, then from the point of view of spiritual good, laziness is not a type of vice in general, since, as was shown above (II-I, 71, 1), every vice avoids the spiritual good of its opposite virtue. In addition, laziness cannot be called a type of vice, also because it avoids spiritual good as something difficult and disturbing to the body or as an obstacle to receiving bodily pleasures, since this does not separate laziness from sensual vices that prompt a person to strive for bodily well-being. and enjoyment.
Therefore, we must say that there is a certain order in spiritual goods, since all spiritual goods, which are found in the acts of all virtues, are directed towards one spiritual good, namely, the divine good, in relation to which there is a special virtue, namely, love for the heavenly. Therefore, it is inherent in every virtue to rejoice in its own spiritual good, which lies in its own act, while love of things above has a special spiritual joy, through which one rejoices in the divine good. And in the same way, the sadness through which one mourns the spiritual good that is present in any act of virtue is inherent not in any kind of vice, but in each of them, but the sadness due to the divine good, which gives joy to love for the heavenly, is inherent in a special kind of vice we call laziness.
What has been said is enough to answer all objections.
Section 3. Is Sloth a Mortal Sin?
With the third [provision] the situation is as follows.
objection 1. It seems that laziness is not a mortal sin. Indeed, any mortal is opposed to any of the precepts of the divine Law. But laziness is not opposed to any of the precepts, which is not difficult to see if you re-read the precepts of the Decalogue. Therefore, laziness is not a mortal sin.
objection 2. Further, within one and the same kind, deeds are no less grievous than the sin of thinking. But to abstain in practice from some spiritual good leading to God is not a mortal sin, otherwise it would be a mortal sin not to follow the advice. Therefore, to abstain in thought from this kind of spiritual work is not a mortal sin. Therefore, laziness is not a mortal sin.
Objection 3. Further, in the perfect there can be no mortal sin. But laziness can also be found in the perfect, because, according to Cassian, "hermits are intimately familiar with laziness, which is their main and incessant annoyance." Therefore, laziness is not always a mortal sin.
This is contrary to what is said [in Scripture] that "worldly sorrow produces death" (). But such is laziness, and not the sadness that “for the sake of God” is opposed to worldly sadness. Therefore, laziness is a mortal sin.
I answer: as already said (IM, 88, 2), the mortal got his name because he destroys the spiritual life, which is a consequence of the love of heaven, through which God dwells in us. Therefore, any sin that is contrary to the love of heaven by its nature, belongs to the category of mortal sins. And such is laziness, for, as has been shown above (28:1), the proper consequence of the love of things above is joy in God, while laziness is sorrow for spiritual good in so far as it is divine good. Therefore, by its nature, laziness is a mortal sin.
However, it must be borne in mind here that all those sins that are mortal on the part of the race become mortal in themselves only when they reach their perfection. And this is so because the perfection of sin lies in the agreement of reason, since in the present case we are talking about human sins, consisting in human acts, the beginning of which is reason. Therefore, if it is only the beginning of sin, which is exclusively in the sensibility without any consent to it of the mind, then such a sin is pardonable because of the imperfection of the act. So, if in adultery lust does not extend beyond sensuality, then there is a venial sin, while if it occurs with the consent of the mind, then there is a mortal sin. And in the same way, in some cases, the movement of laziness occurs in mere sensuality due to the fact that the flesh desires the opposite of the spirit, and then it is a venial sin, while in others it reaches the mind, which agrees with it in hatred, horror and disgust from the divine good. because of the absolute predominance of the flesh over the spirit, and in this last case, laziness is a mortal sin.
Reply to objection 1. Laziness is contrary to the command to sanctify the Sabbath day. Indeed, this precept, insofar as it is a moral precept, indirectly prescribes the mind to rest in God, which [rest] is opposed to mental sorrow on account of the divine good.
Reply to objection 2. Laziness is the aversion of the mind not from any spiritual good, but from the divine good, to which the mind must cling. Therefore, if a person is grieved because someone forces him to perform those acts of virtue that he is not obliged to perform, then this is not a sin of laziness, but such is his grief because of the need to do something for the sake of God.
Reply to objection 3. Imperfect movements of laziness can be found in the saints, but they never get the consent of the mind.
Section 4. SHOULD LAZINESS BE CONSIDERED A MAIN VICE?
With the fourth [provision], the situation is as follows.
objection 1. It seems that laziness should not be considered the main vice. In fact, as already mentioned (34, 5), the main vice is considered to be the one that moves a person to sinful deeds. But laziness does not move anyone to action, on the contrary, it encourages him to refuse them. Therefore, it cannot be considered a major sin.
objection 2. Further, the main sin is that to which some daughters are assimilated. Then, Gregory assimilates laziness to six daughters, namely "malice, malice, cowardice, despair, apathy in relation to the commandments, mental error regarding the unrighteous." But it seems that all this is not really the result of laziness. So, “malice” is perhaps the same as hatred, which, as was shown above (34, 6), is a consequence of envy, “malice” is a generic concept that includes all vices, and is the same “ delusion" of the mind in regard to all those iniquities that are found in any vice, "apathy" in regard to the commandments, seems to be the same as laziness, while "cowardice" and "despair" can be the consequences of any sin. Therefore, laziness should not rightly be considered a major sin.
Objection 3. Further, Isidore distinguishes the vice of laziness from the vice of sadness, and says that when a person shirks from his duties because of their unpleasantness and burdensomeness, then it is sadness, and when he inclines to improper rest, then it is laziness. Of sadness, he says that it causes "malice, cowardice, chagrin, despair", and from laziness, in his opinion, seven things arise, namely "idleness, lethargy, restlessness of the mind, restlessness of the body, inconstancy, talkativeness, curiosity". Therefore, it appears that either Gregory or Isidore was inaccurate in defining laziness as a major sin along with his daughters.
This is contrary to what Gregory said about laziness being the chief sin that has the aforementioned daughters.
I answer: as already mentioned (II-I, 84, 3), it is necessary to consider the main vice that easily causes other vices, being their ultimate cause. But just as we do a lot of things because of pleasure, either because we want to get it, or because we are prompted by pleasure to some actions, so we do a lot of things because of sadness, either because we want to avoid it, or because they are annoyed that she is forcing us to do something. Therefore, since laziness, as shown above (2), is a kind of sadness, it is justly considered the main sin.
Reply to objection 1. Laziness, by burdening the mind, prevents us from doing that which causes sadness, but at the same time it prompts the mind to certain actions - either those that are consistent with sadness, such as crying, or those that seem to be a remedy for sadness.
Reply to objection 2. Gregory correctly assimilated the daughters of laziness. Indeed, since, according to the Philosopher, “no one wants to stay long in the company of someone who is quarrelsome and unpleasant,” it follows that some of the consequences of sadness can arise in two ways: first, when a person avoids everything that causes sadness; secondly, when he strives for everything that gives him pleasure. Thus, as the Philosopher says, those who have no taste for spiritual pleasures resort to bodily pleasures. Then, in the very avoidance of sadness, the order is revealed that a person first of all moves away from objects that are unpleasant to him, and secondly, he fights with what causes sadness. But spiritual goods, which are the objects of the sorrows of laziness, are both ends and means. The avoidance of the goal is a consequence of "despair", while the avoidance of those goods that are means to an end in what is difficult and subject to advice, follows from "cowardice", and, as far as general righteousness is concerned, from "apathy in regarding the commandments. The fight against saddening spiritual blessings is sometimes a struggle with those people who lead others to spiritual blessings, and this is called "malice", and sometimes, when a person comes to the point that he begins to feel disgust for the spiritual blessings themselves, it extends directly to them. and this is rightly called "malice". To the extent that a person seeks refuge in external objects of pleasure, the daughter of laziness is called "mental delusion regarding the unrighteous." From what has been said, the answer to the objection against each of the daughters is obvious. Indeed, "malice" in the present case does not mean that which is a generic concept that includes all vices, but it must be understood as explained [by us above], "malice" is not a synonym for hatred, but a kind of indignation, and something similar can be said about everything else.
Reply to objection 3. A similar distinction between sadness and laziness is made by Cassian. However, Gregory, calling laziness a kind of sadness, is closer to the truth, since, as was shown above (2), sadness is a special kind of vice not when a person avoids unpleasant and burdensome work or is sad for any other reason, but only when when he mourns for the divine good, what grief belongs essentially to laziness, since laziness rejects the divine good in order to achieve an undue rest. In addition, everything that Isidore lists as consequences of sadness and laziness comes down to what Gregory writes about. Thus, the "chagrin", which, according to Isidore, is a consequence of sadness, follows from "malice". "Idleness" and "sluggishness" are reduced to "apathy in regard to the commandments", because some, the idle, miss their fulfillment in general, while others, the sluggish ones, although they fulfill them, but with negligence. The five others which he enumerates as the consequences of laziness belong to "mental error concerning the unrighteous." This tendency to delusion, if it has nestled in the mind itself as a kind of desire to jump from thing to thing without any sense or reason, is called "restlessness of the mind"; if it is in the faculty of imagination, it is called "curiosity"; if it affects speech, it is called "talkativeness"; insofar as it affects the body, inducing it to a constant change of position, it is called "restlessness of the body," as when a person, through disordered bodily movements, reveals, so to speak, the instability of his mind; if it causes the body to move from place to place, then this is called "inconstancy", and also "inconstancy" can mean variability of the goal.
How would you react if one day your child - well-mannered, getting straight A's in school, and successfully involved in all sorts of extracurricular activities - came home and started cursing like a sailor, and even showering you with abuse?
Would you argue like this: my child is generally well brought up, an excellent student and successful in many things, so there is no need to worry about such a trifle? Would you justify him - they say, this is just a special case, and he, perhaps, will “grow up” and stop using foul language? I'm sure you wouldn't react the same way. Most, forgetting about everything else, would try to urgently "take action", driven by a just desire to stop such terrible, unacceptable behavior.
Now imagine a different situation: the same child, with the same set of wonderful virtues - but with a different problem: the desire to sleep in the morning as long as possible. You try to wake him up, but he doesn't want to get up. He is ready to sleep until noon. Whatever job you give him, he is easily distracted. It is hard for him to force himself to start doing something, and he rarely brings it "normally" to the end. How would you react? They would begin to reassure themselves that, they say, the trouble is not great. After all, he is doing so wonderfully in everything else! Would you laugh and say: “Teens are teenagers. What to take from them? He will grow up soon."
Look, there's no excuse for a child to berate his parents. But the Bible says even more about the sin of laziness. Cursing your parents is a serious sin. But laziness is the same sin. Why don't we consider laziness a big problem? Why has laziness become a respectable sin among Christians?
Laziness as a mindset
For many, laziness is a way of life, a worldview. We instill in ourselves the mindset that no one would ever do anything if it were possible. We romanticize laziness. Our life reflects the song of the eighties - “…everyone works for the weekend”. We tend to believe that if it weren't for the "vanity" (the usual "meaningless" work), we would be wonderful, active Christians. We would then devote all our time to reading the Bible and could be strong, courageous believers. Such thinking reflects laziness as a worldview. We were convinced that we only work because we have the opportunity to rest. Work is thus a necessary evil. This is how we often feel about work. However, this approach turns on its head God's plan for the cycle of work and rest. According to the Bible, we do not "work to rest" but "rest to work." If we do not start from this fundamental reality, we come to false conclusions about work and leisure.
Changing the way you look at work and play
When God created this world, He used the word "good". But after creating man in His own image, He said “very good” (Gen. 1:31). At the end of the first chapter, God establishes a unique purpose, mission, for the bearers of His image: they must rule over all creation (subject to God's authority). From the first days of creation, we are called to manage this world and see it as an object of creative, purposeful work. The bearers of God's image were to devote themselves to work that would bring prosperity to the human race and glorify God. When God completed the process of creation, He is said to have "rested from all works" (Genesis 2:1-3). Why did God choose to rest? Is he tired? No. It was a celebration of His work. He enjoyed the wonderful results of His creative work. God continues His work through the Church even now. God has commanded us to rest on the Lord's Day so that we can celebrate His work in this world and our work in His kingdom—a work that brings glory to Him. We celebrate and rest in the process of doing God's work in Christ. We practice "gospel rest" on the Lord's Day so that we may have strength to do the "gospel work." We need to learn the correct order: we rest in order to work.
Even before the fall, God planted a garden for man to work in - for the sake of feeding the bearers of God's image and the common good (Gen. 2:8-15). Biblically, work is not a necessary evil. It is a good gift from a sovereign God. To believe that work is a necessary evil is to rebel against God's design. Both work and leisure are equally important. Anyone who has dedicated himself to work will discipline himself in terms of rest in order to be able to do his job effectively. Work is uniquely connected to a purposeful life and has an outward orientation—i.e. we do something for our family, society; make this world a better place. To work is to devote oneself to the cause of the common good (regardless of whether the work is paid or not). And laziness is a rebellion of the bearers of God's image against the Creator.
The stupidity of laziness
In light of all this, it should not be surprising that when we delve into the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs, we find that a significant part of it is devoted to the theme of the work. The passage of Prov. 6:6-11.
It's hard for a lazy person to get started
In Pr. 6:6-7 the idler is advised to look at the life of ants. These insects have no master, sir. No one pushes them, no one encourages them. However, they work hard (observer illustration). Are you like these ants? What about your children? Do you have an internal God-centered motivation to do your work, or do you need external motivation? Here's one simple test for you. When the alarm rings in the morning, do you get up right away or turn on the snooze button? How many times do you turn it on - one, two, three, five? These 5-10 minutes will not help you sleep. So why do it? Is it possible that by pressing this button every time you only cultivate your laziness? When you are given a job, what is your first reaction - to consider all the obstacles, all the reasons why it is not worth doing? And really don't? Parents, what good will come of raising children in such a way that they are allowed to sleep every day as much as they want?
The lazy is self-centered and short-sighted
Etc. 6:8, showing the work of ants, suggests the principle of consistent work, taking into account the future and the needs of others. What is the opposite of such a principle? The practice of sitting idly by until the need forces you to work. You know, you have problems with laziness if you are waiting for the last evening to start writing your term paper. You can write great work - but you are still lazy. And this is true for both the employee and the housewife. A lazy person constantly suffers from the tyranny of urgent matters. When you live like this, you become miserable and miserable. Cramming all the necessary work into a few hours a day is a path that brings little joy. Some people are too busy just because they are too lazy to organize their lives according to the right priorities. Parents often demonstrate this pathetic work model by constantly complaining about their work and then wondering why their children are adopting a bad work ethic.
The lazy one always finds a reason not to work hard
In Pr. 6:9-10 we find a number of excuses with which the sloth justifies his laziness: “Sleep a little, take a nap, lie down a little with your hands folded”. Have you noticed that no one ever considers himself lazy? As a seminary professor, I can testify that there has never been a single case where a student, handing me a belated paper, explained this by his laziness. We come up with all sorts of excuses for our laziness. In the end, we were late quite a bit. We were once again prevented by “one small problem”. Nobody admits their laziness. Why? Because we always have a reason ready why we could not do our job on time and diligently. In Pr. 22:13 says: “The sloth says: “The lion is in the street! in the middle of the square they will kill me!” This somehow reminds me “The dog ate my homework”. I wonder why we are talking about a sloth and not a coward? Because laziness and cowardice go hand in hand. They complement each other. The sloth is self-centered, so he has no motivation for courage - only pathetic, cowardly excuses.
The lazy one is always dissatisfied and dissatisfied
In Pr. 6:11 we read that poverty comes to the lazy. Comes unnoticed and causes serious harm. Have you ever met a person who would say that his goal is to live in poverty, so he decided not to work too hard? No. But if you decide to live according to the worldly worldview (which is completely contrary to what God says), then in any case you are hurting yourself - even if you do not notice it. Written: “The soul of the lazy desires, but in vain; but the soul of the diligent shall be satisfied”(Prov. 13:4). Do you see the irony in these words? People choose laziness in order to get satisfaction and joy from life, but laziness leads only to dissatisfaction and disappointment. Why? Because laziness is rooted in egocentrism, which, in turn, leads to children's myopia. Feeding your self-centeredness and cultivating short-sightedness is not the path to satisfaction.
For the believer, there is no such thing as secular work. Every work must be sacred to him who is united with Christ by faith and filled with the Holy Spirit. Homework, preaching, building, apprenticeship—all of this must be done for the common good and God's glory. Everyone has the same responsibility. The main and final result of God's commission to "rule" is the fulfillment by the Church of the Great Commission (Mt. 28:16-20).
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Thus, any work for Christians is connected with the mission of pointing others to Christ. Christians are to be the most diligent, industrious workers. The Bible calls laziness a sin, an evil. It would be wise if we also began to regard laziness as a sin. This requires rethinking the concept of work in the light of the gospel. Laziness is not only a rebellion against the Creator, but also a rebellion against the Redeemer. “And whatever you do, do it from the heart, as for the Lord, and not for men”(Col. 3:23). It is also necessary to “value the time” (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5). And it is important to teach this to children.
Start simple: do not press the snooze button on your alarm clock in the morning. Thank God for the gift of labor. And work hard.
The Voice of Truth based on David Prince's blog
Laziness It starts when after a rest you want to rest just a little more. It is easy to eliminate such a situation with a little effort of will, forcing yourself to do some small work. You could even call it warming up.. You should not take on the main things from such a state, as you will quickly get tired of it. And then you decide that it is better to go to rest a little more.
Also, very often laziness begins with a broken sleep pattern. Usually this happens at the end of the working week on Friday-Saturday. Keeping in mind that you don't have to get up early tomorrow, there is a great temptation to spend hours on the Internet until 4 am or watch DVDs for a long time. In addition to all this, laziness very often begins with a bad mood on Saturday morning. It is very easy to remove it with a contrast shower, followed by a trip to the store for something tasty.
It seems that a little more, and you will definitely get to work, but you have not yet decided where to start. Browse your favorite sites, diaries of your friends, look for where to go, read something interesting. And you are really sincerely surprised that there are somehow not enough online contacts in ICQ, that there is so little new information on the sites and that you have not found a single entry in the friend tape that you would not have read. And in general, everything is bad and not at all rosy, some kind of blues attacked. Or maybe watch a movie? But there is nothing new. What to do? A familiar situation, isn't it? Well, what can I say, my "congratulations", this is Laziness. Yes, it's Len. She quietly conquers you. At first, laziness binds you hand and foot, hiding behind the usual rest, then gradually it captures you completely. And you do not have time to come to your senses, as you are already completely and completely in her power. It is because of laziness that very often you start to mope, even if there are no visible reasons for this. And in especially neglected cases, some individuals manage to be lazy even to think. Bad feeling, right? You need to get rid of them somehow. This is what we will do with you now!
How to recognize laziness?
You need to pay special attention to yourself and start fighting laziness. For example, if you notice that your vacation "for a day" was delayed and should have ended 3-4 days ago. Moreover, it is worth sounding the alarm if during these 3-4 days you have done practically nothing or have no idea where they have gone. Very often, acute bouts of laziness are accompanied by a general, I emphasize, imaginary malaise. It is also one of the signs of laziness, when you start to get annoyed with or without a reason, you constantly want something, but you can’t understand what exactly. And the blues and apathy become your faithful companions. If you have all of the above symptoms, then you need to immediately get out of this state, because it will not lead to anything good.
The first stage of the fight against laziness: the workspace
In order to force yourself to do at least something, you need to have a free workspace. And it really should work. To begin with, you can simply remove all unnecessary and inappropriate items from the table. Collect and fold all documents, put books in place. But pay attention to how you do it. When I say "in place", I mean a specially designated place for this or that object, and not the first box that comes across, in which you can safely dump a bunch of "garbage" and forget about it.
Let's say that we have finished with the table and the territories adjacent to it. Now let's look at the general view of the room. Maybe you need to put something in the closet, fix something somewhere, or something else is wrong. It is very important that there is order around, this will save you the opportunity to once again be distracted from work. And then later some extraneous business will not arise, which you are still not going to complete.
It is also worth paying attention to yourself. Dress in comfortable and suitable clothes for you, wash your face. Maybe you still want to have breakfast? It’s just that a rather strange picture has been spread in recent days: the first reflex of a sleepy body that has fallen out of bed is to reach out to the computer’s power button. And just sitting in front of the monitor, the eyes slowly begin to open. It is necessary to somehow connect the Internet and poke the mouse into the ICQ icon. And then somehow it is forgotten that there is a bathroom, a shower, and that people usually have breakfast in the morning. But when you still remember that you need to eat something, you are surprised to notice that, in principle, you can already have dinner. Where did the time go?
The second stage of the fight against laziness: remember the time
You have already tidied up your workplace and yourself, now is the time to look at the clock. Agree, it seemed to you that it would all take much longer. In fact, everything came out relatively quickly.
Now our task is to properly plan and calculate your time. First, you need to decide on the goals and objectives for today. You need to submit a project tomorrow or maybe prepare for an important conference. Then you should do this first of all, and you need to start with it. Here everyone will find their own, the options are endless. You need to look at how much time it will take to prepare materials, to complete the work itself. You should also not forget about minor matters, albeit not so important, but still worth doing. If the time is calculated and planned correctly, then all your affairs will be done on time. And there will simply be no time for laziness.
And now I will share with you my little "development". I really like to stay up late after work is done. A couple of finishing touches and you can admire the work done. It stimulates performance and improves mood. And do not forget to praise yourself for the work done, even if you did not manage to do everything, because you worked!
The third stage of the fight against laziness, the final
And, in my opinion, the most favorite door of laziness is a mess in everything. In plans, in time, in an apartment, when you don't know what to do. It takes a lot of time to sit and think about it. And in the end it turns out that almost nothing is done. The best solution in this case would be an approximate layout of the next day and the desire to maintain at least some, but order in everything.
These tips are enough to get you started. They are easy to apply to almost anyone.
Hello father, my name is Alexander, I want to turn to you for advice, I would even say with a cry from my soul. I have been playing computer games for many years, all day long, for a long time over the years. And did not pay attention to the world outside the window was completely immersed in them. Only on very urgent matters was he distracted from the games. These games got on my nerves. It got to the point that my senses were dulled (I didn’t feel taste, smell, etc. I was indifferent to the female sex), I seemed to arrive in a dream (the years went by, but I didn’t care). Only now I began to bitterly realize how laziness controlled me. I have been studying at the university for many years (10 years of which I studied full-time at different faculties for 3 years, then, because of my laziness, I switched to correspondence education), but all this didn’t matter to me, as if it wasn’t my life, I was all in my thoughts games. And only now I began to realize that I did not study what I really wanted. Throughout the study, he practically did not work, only during practice (study), out of 10 years, he worked for a maximum of 1 year. And if I did some work, it did not interest me and did not even try to penetrate and understand it, there was complete indifference. He also didn't do any work around the house. In the family I am the only child spoiled me with everything to me the best. Lived on everything. I remember the smart grandfather was saying: “Laziness was born before you,” but I did not pay attention to his words because of my youth. At the moment I'm 26 years old and I can't really do much in life. It sounds funny, but only now I began to do exercises in the morning, learn how to cook lunch or dinner, began to wash the dishes, the floor, brush my teeth, wash every day before going to bed, etc. I read the Bible, the prayer “Our Father” before going to bed 3 times. Before that, I was baptized. Last year I helped my parents in the garden (we are building a dacha) and will continue to help them in everything. If thoughts climb to be lazy, I fight with them and do the work. Now the diploma and fear have appeared whether I can pass it, negative thoughts visit me, insomnia and longing. The fear of adulthood is also present. he spent his years carefree and did not strive to develop in anything. I want to overcome my laziness and improve my psyche, what can you advise. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Hello, Alexander! The first thing to do is to embark on the path of spiritual life. It is clear to set two paths before you - the path of spiritual life, leading to salvation, and the path of carnal life, leading to death. And in the very depths of one's being - to decide to follow the path of spiritual life. With this decision, the spiritual life of every person who realizes that he has deviated from the path of salvation should begin. This is the first step on your path, but here the first temptation awaits you: this feeling of shame and the consciousness of sin can be both life and death. To life, if it arouses in you a thirst for salvation, if it is illuminated by the hope of God's mercy, if it does not kill your faith that the Lord will spare His creation and accept you as He accepted the prodigal son. To death - if it leads you to hopeless despair. And I ask you to notice: from the very first steps of life, the spiritual intrigues of the enemy! They lie in wait for a person at all levels of spiritual ascent, the enemy lies in wait for every good movement of the heart and seeks to turn it into evil, because everything good in us has a certain line, crossing which it imperceptibly turns into evil. Often a person cannot recognize this trait on their own. This is a work of the grace of God, therefore arrogance is the most dangerous sin, since it contains the possibility of all sins. The enemy will strive and bring your good repentance to evil despondency. He will tell you hopeless words that it’s too late for you to improve, that you can’t do it. That you will perish, that it is not worth starting this new life. She's not for you. Drive them away. Don't let them linger in your heart. They are from the enemy. Spiritual life does not depend on time. It is possible, as we see in the example of the thief on the cross, to acquire salvation in one hour. Many examples from the life of saints testify to the same. You can always start over with life. And there is no sinner whom the Lord would not forgive. What about age? What does it have to do with the question of spiritual life? Isn't a person equally close to death at every age? And is it not possible to perish spiritually in youth and be saved in old age? You must confess your sins in the Church and, after the remission of sins, partake of the Holy Mysteries. One must enter the spiritual path through repentance and affirm oneself on it through the sacrament of the Divine Eucharist. How will you live with Him without accepting the flesh and blood of Christ? And here, as in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will build you all sorts of intrigues. He will erect many external and internal barriers. Either you will have no time, then you will feel unwell, then you will want to postpone for a while in order to "better prepare." Do not listen. Go. Confess. Communion. You don't know when the Lord will call you. Grace and help of God!
