Team Sloth
Being on a bicycle regularly is an important part of my physical health and has a considerable impact on my mental and spiritual well-being. My lovely and gracious wife understands this need and encourages me to consistently get on the saddle. She has done this to the point of being willing to join me as much as possible. We even purchased a tandem bicycle for her birthday a few years ago, and biking has become an enjoyable way for us to be together doing what replenishes us in multiple ways.
We are not fast. Whether riding individually or on our tandem, we maintain a pace only slightly over what is considered leisurely. In fact, when we ride together, we call ourselves Team Sloth! We even have matching jerseys emblazoned with Team Sloth. We are content to embrace the moniker and enjoy the smiles it generates for people who see us.
But genuine sloth is far more dangerous than what is depicted on our team jerseys. It is the most insidious of what are considered the Seven Deadly Sins. More than simply laziness, it represents an attempt to get through life unscathed.
Prolific author Frederick Buechner suggests that sloth is:
“Getting through life on automatic pilot. Not really being alive. Not really making use of what happens to you. Burying what you might have made something out of. Playing safe with your life. To bury your life, to bury your pain, to bury your joy. To bury whatever the world gives you, and then to live as carefully as you can without really living at all.”[1]
The Ecclesiastes writer notes that the seasons of life are always changing, and we can expect to experience life that includes joy and pain, giving and receiving, and laughing and crying. (Ecc. 3:1-8)
As disciples of Jesus, we have been called to a full and complete life, open to sharing God’s abundant blessing with every person we encounter. What that means, in reality, is a journey of constant challenge as we live as Jesus demonstrated and give of ourselves as he did. There is no way to do this and get through life unscathed.
But the scars we receive through life's difficulties are part of the journey. They act as mile markers indicating important events and progress. As followers of Jesus, opportunities abound for us to live fully and completely, to share generously and sacrificially, and to serve with carefree and open hearts. Yes, living this way is risky, but perhaps it's far less risky than living so carefully that we never really live at all.
[1] Buechner, Frederick. A Crazy, Holy Grace: The Healing Power of Pain and Memory. Zondervan, 2017. P. 25.
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Dan Kreiss, RPC’s Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach, brings with him a heart for service and a diverse array of experiences in the mission field. Be sure to subscribe to the Mission Outreach Blog to read and follow along as he documents his personal journey and shares his vision for RPC’s mission outreach commitment. Along with providing meaningful resources, this blog will help jumpstart the important conversations our church community must be having about missional living.
Dan Kreiss
Rev. Dr. Dan Kreiss is the Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach at RPC. Dan is particularly passionate about encouraging the church to reflect the diversity found in its surrounding community in regard to age, gender, ethnicity, education and economic status.