Analytical Essay: Sloth And Genuiness

Sloth is different from the other deadly sins in that its sinfulness comes not from an act that is done, but rather, one that remains undone. As Newton discovered many years ago, an object at rest tends to stay at rest, therefore, slothfulness may be the easiest of the deadly sins to fall into. In his chapter on the subject, Guinness helps us to better understand the characteristics of sloth and how it works in a person’s life. Guinness does this by showing what our reaction to sloth should be, how we mask that reaction and how sloth can be overcome.
When we engage in slothfulness we give Satan a free pass in our lives. His goal is to turn us from the things of God, however, if we are not actively seeking these, there is no work to be done towards this goal as it is already accomplished. In his book Pensées, Blaise Pascal writes, “This negligence in a matter where they themselves, their eternity, their all are at stake, fills me more with irritation than pity; it astounds and appalls me; it seems quite monstrous to me” (Guinness, pg. 3-7). Pascal’s reaction is the one that Christians should

Therefore, I am not going to take the time necessary to grow in his ways” in the same way that it is easier for a student to admit that they are busy with their friends on social media than that they don’t feel like writing a paper. In her speech Dorthey L. Sayers communicates just this idea, “We think that if we are busily rushing about and doing things, we cannot be suffering from Sloth. And besides, violent activity seems to offer an escape from the horrors of Sloth” (Guinness, pg. 3-11). Sayers continues her speech by saying that our attempt to cover slothfulness leads to each of the other seven deadly sins which in turn serve to further strain our relationship with the