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Slothful readers will be tempted to skip this story "I don't feel like doing that today"..."It's none of my business"..."Why should I go 'out on a limb'?"..."I don't think I should get too committed." Statements like those could be the result of the capital sin known as sloth. Defined as laziness or having an "I don't care" attitude, sloth can also be described as the avoidance of physical or spiritual works. Lack of energy Rev. Anthony Chiaramonte, director of the Consultation Center of the Albany Diocese, also looks at sloth as lack of enthusiasm for God or having "no sense of energy" for the things of God. He views this sin as drawing people away from God's love, which leads to other sins. "Most of us seem to have a basic sense of wanting to do good," he said. "But there seems to be a notion in society that doing what is right or good is to be frowned upon, that it is somehow not acceptable. "When sloth comes into play, we don't do what we know we can do. Perhaps it is fear that keeps us from doing it. Or it might be that we feel we have no knowledge of what is going on to make any impact. We become 'lukewarm.'" All-pervading sin Father Chiaramonte reflected that sloth can affect relationships with family and friends, the world of business or even Church ministries. As an example, he referred to the Enron scandal that involved corporate fraud. Some people knew that others were not doing the right thing but chose not to report it; as a result, many thousands were negatively affected by loss of employment and, in some cases, financial ruin. "As Christians, we have a responsibility to live the Good News of the Gospel message and that involves commitment to bringing this news to others," he explained. "It also involves taking the responsibility to do the right thing." Door to other sins The priest added that "the disinclination to action or to labor leads to indolence and spiritual apathy." When that happens, a person could be led to other sins. "Sloth can lead to tepidity in keeping God's law," he said. Sloth "is considered a sin against the first commandment because it is opposed to the love of God." In turn, that tepidity leads to spiritual apathy and inactivity, ingratitude, and indifference. Zeal The opposite virtue to sloth is diligence or zeal. "By following the Good News of Jesus, we can learn to share ourselves with others, bringing this great energy to those that might otherwise not know it," Father Chiaramonte said. "We can enliven others. As Christians, we can live what we believe. "Ours is a relational religion. Because we believe in Christ, we interact with each other through love and joy. We need that energy to respond to each other's needs. "It's easy to turn our heads, our eyes and our minds away from those in need, to not respond to children in hunger and poverty, or the AIDS victim who needs our help. We sometimes don't really want to know what the Bible or our Church teaches about something, so we put off reading about it or asking about it. "Because Christians are people of life, we can bring the Easter message to each other by living that life with zeal and quality. As Christians, we don't stop at the Crucifixion. We go on to the Resurrection and beyond that to the newness of life. We can love our neighbor, help the poor and tell the truth. We can know what is the right thing to do and, hopefully, do it." (4/17/03) |