How do you define the sin of "sloth"?

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Okay is there anyone here who can sincerely say that they’ve never commited this sin!:).Who here hasn’t held off homework,work assignments and chores till *some other *time?.

Seriously though,I find it a bit hard to understand the sin of *“sloth”.Saying whether you acted on the temptation to “be sloth” is IMO a bit more different then saying you acted on the temptation to go with your anger or lust.Being lazy inherently means inaction (which by extention :ehh: might include the very state of being indecisive enough to be unspurred into action.I have a feeling that this sin can be better explained more long the lines inaction then just plain laziness.

*I prefer to say laziness b/c I don’t like accusing a tropical animal of being sinful for it’s slow movements 😛
 
sidetrack said:
Okay is there anyone here who can sincerely say that they’ve never commited this sin!:).Who here hasn’t held off homework,work assignments and chores till *some other *time?.

Seriously though,I find it a bit hard to understand the sin of *“sloth”.Saying whether you acted on the temptation to “be sloth” is IMO a bit more different then saying you acted on the temptation to go with your anger or lust.Being lazy inherently means inaction (which by extention :ehh: might include the very state of being indecisive enough to be unspurred into action.I have a feeling that this sin can be better explained more long the lines inaction then just plain laziness.
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Meh, I wouldn’t say sloth is mere laziness or procrastination, otherwise Facebook would have made the Seven Deadly Sins list quite a long time ago.

Rather, I think that sloth is profound refusal to take care of one’s own or others’ needs (even if those needs are optional) even though one has the ability and opportunity to do it.

I hate sloth more than any other deadly sin (meh, maybe deceitful testimony is worse), because this is where you see people making petty excuses for their non-involvement. The most beautiful things God has given us is free will and the ability to learn, and I try to be conscientious about my decisions, take responsibility for my mistakes even when it hurts my pride and avoid the “I can’t, and will never be able to” mentality.
sidetrack said:
*I prefer to say laziness b/c I don’t like accusing a tropical animal of being sinful for it’s slow movements 😛
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😃
 
sidetrack said:
Okay is there anyone here who can sincerely say that they’ve never commited this sin!:).Who here hasn’t held off homework,work assignments and chores till *some other *time?.

Seriously though,I find it a bit hard to understand the sin of *“sloth”.Saying whether you acted on the temptation to “be sloth” is IMO a bit more different then saying you acted on the temptation to go with your anger or lust.Being lazy inherently means inaction (which by extention :ehh: might include the very state of being indecisive enough to be unspurred into action.I have a feeling that this sin can be better explained more long the lines inaction then just plain laziness.

*I prefer to say laziness b/c I don’t like accusing a tropical animal of being sinful for it’s slow movements 😛
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Modern Catholic Dictionary:

SLOTH. Sluggishness of soul or boredom because of the exertion necessary for the performance of a good work. The good work may be a corporal task, such as walking; or a mental exercise, such as writing; or a spiritual duty, such as prayer. Implicit in sloth is the unwillingness to exert oneself in the performance of duty because of the sacrifice and the effort required. As a sin, it is not to be confused with mere sadness over the inconvenience involved in fulfilling one’s obligations, nor with the indeliberate feelings of repugnance when faced with unpleasant work. It becomes sinful when the reluctance is allowed to influence the will and, as a result, what should have been done is either, left undone or performed less well than a person is responsible for doing. Sloth may also mean a repugnance to divine inspirations or the friendship of God due to the self-sacrifice and labor needed to co-operate with actual grace or to remain in the state of grace. This kind of laziness is directly opposed to the love of God and is one of the main reasons why some people, perhaps after years of virtuous living, give up in the pursuit of holiness or even become estranged from God. (Etym. Middle-English slowthe, slow.)
 
This thread is very helpful and informative, because it’s one of the sins I tend to overlook. I understand it, in theory, but does anyone have an real-life examples of a situation that would constitute the actual sin?
 
When I am being weak or lazy in my prayer life, I will confess that with an eye to sloth. Lazy in my secular life… it would have to be profound for me to call it a capital sin.
 
There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission, folks. “For what I have done, and what I have failed to do.”

Say that you had a chance to save someone’s life or keep them out of prison, but it meant that you’d have to rush across town and go through a lot of bother, or testify in court and maybe get hassled. Or maybe get embarrassed, because you’d have to admit you were doing something stupid that put you in a position to testify. Or maybe you’re shy, and don’t want to go.

If you failed to do that, because of your personal preferences that made you reluctant, it’d be a deadly sin of sloth.
 
sidetrack said:
*I prefer to say laziness b/c I don’t like accusing a tropical animal of being sinful for it’s slow movements 😛
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I thought the animal was named after the sin, not the sin after the animal…

I feel like I am constantly struggling with this sin, although when I mention it my family always argues that it is my fibromyalgia and depression at fault…🤷 there is a cd available from lighthouse media on the seven deadly sins that I think explains it well…

And there is always Dante 😃
 
You need to distinguish sloth from depression. Looking at my behaviors, one would think I’m sinning with sloth, but actually I’m suffering with severe depression. These two concepts often involve a fine line.
 
Wait… now I’m confused. :confused: I always thought it was synonymous with laziness, which I’d define (perhaps wrongly) as failing to act in order to avoid physical or mental exertion.

So, is the definition actually so broad that it encompasses any time we fail to do something we should, period?

Sorry for being a little slow at this!
 
The sin of sloth overlaps other sins. For example, I see someone in need, but ignore it. We usually say the person sinned against charity. But it could be sloth at the bottom of it.

Or anger may be an issue when someone requests us to pay back what is owed. Yet it really was sloth since the person had the money and neglected to pay it back and now gets angry and hatful.

Just a thought.
 
Interesting question… I don’t understand sloth either.

So is it sloth if you aren’t always busy, but at night you watch TV and just “veg out”, or play solitaire or search facebook?What about not working as hard as you could at work? Or not caring if you do laundry or cleaning on a schedule and just kind of let things go (not to extreme but not being real diligent about it)?

Or what if you are just tired and go out to eat instead of cooking? Or don’t re-cycle everything because it’s too much trouble to separate it all out? Is this sloth and what determines whether it is “deadly” or not? (I assume deadline = mortal?) How much could be natural aging and you just don’t have the energy you used to have–and how would you know?
 
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