Sloth In Guinness Analysis

I cannot overemphasize how skilled Guinness is at clearly explaining the true nature of the vices. Before reading this chapter, whenever I thought of the word ‘sloth,’ I either thought of a slow-moving animal or of a person who expects results without expending effort. For this reason, although I am lazy more often than I should be, I am industrious enough that I do not really fit the definition of a ‘sluggard.’ However, according to Guinness’ definition, I am not guiltless of sloth. In fact, I have gone through several slothful periods in my life. Although many of the examples in this chapter focused on sloth as the loss of hope in life, Guinness’ interpretation of this vice reveals that it is unfortunately quite easy to slip into a lesser
Before any of the other vices can be subdued, sloth must become the first target; it is the vice that robs us of meaning in life, and whenever we begin to believe that life is meaningless, our actions, both good and bad, lose all value and it no longer matters what we do. As Dorothy Sayers has said, “…the other sins hasten to provide a cloak for Sloth…” (qtd. in Guinness 159). According to Guinness, “Sloth is far more than…physical laziness…It is a condition of explicitly spiritual dejection that has given up on the pursuit of God…” (pg 149). Furthermore, he claims that “Although sloth may begin as careless indifference to ideals, its final state is one of despair over the possibility of salvation – ultimately a form of spiritual suicide” (pg 150). To further clarify the meaning of slothfulness, Guinness includes an excerpt from Blaise Pascal that outlines Pascal’s ideas about two
The first step is effort. Note, however, that hard work will not solve the problem, and striving to overcome sloth is not the end in and of itself, as the simple definition of the word might suggest. Peter Kreeft declares that “Faith is finding, but mere seeking overcomes sloth. For seeking become finding, and finding becomes joy, and joy overcomes sloth” (qtd. in Guinness 167). Even Kreeft’s statement seems to imply that effort “overcomes sloth,” but notice the key word in the last phrase – joy. Joy is what overcomes sloth. Out of all of the vices, sloth appears to be the one most easily conquered and the one that most people would be tempted to think requires no divine intervention. If a person is suffering from laziness, the perfect cure would appear to be work. However, because true sloth is not defined as the opposite of hard work, this approach will not be effective. Referring back to Guinness’ earlier statement, sloth is the loss of passion for God and godliness. Since this is true, the only way to defeat this vice is the process (as Kreeft notes) of seeking God and discovering the reality of God and His Word, which leads to joy. Joy only comes from God, so in the end, God is the only one who can overcome