Sloth or Servant?

Have you noticed how popular sloths have become recently? Everywhere you turn, you will see sloths. Stuffed animals, pillows, tumblers, plaques, jewelry, purses, etc. I don’t really understand this infatuation. Sloths are known for being extremely slow. So what is so great about that? Are there just a lot of lazy people in our culture today? Or are these people tired of our fast-paced world and envy the sloth? (If you are a sloth lover, then please comment and let me know what the obsession is all about! I really want to know!) I found it funny when I stumbled across a Bible verse that mentions the famous attribute of this creature.

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” – Romans 12:11 ESV

As I dug further, I found there are actually numerous Bible verses where slothfulness is frowned upon. If you look up the word slothful in the dictionary, it means “lazy.” So the Bible is basically telling us not to be lazy. In the verse I have above, it is talking specifically about not being lazy when serving the Lord.

In Mark 10:45 and in Matthew 20:28 it says “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (NLT) And there are many more verses in the Bible regarding serving, helping others, being good stewards, etc. When we read the Bible, it becomes clear that serving God and serving others is important.

Now let me clear up one thing though. We shouldn’t serve as a way of gaining God’s approval or acceptance. God already loves you more than you can imagine. He can’t love you more than He already does. It says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (NLT)

I feel our servanthood should come from a place of love. We love the Lord so much, that we want to do things for His glory, His Kingdom, and to honor Him. And we should want to be good to others in order to illustrate the love of the Lord. We might be the only reflection of Jesus that some people might see in their day … or in their lifetime. How very sad it would be if we missed our chance. So as for me, I hope that I am never slothful when it comes to serving the Lord.

(Picture by Paul Caputo.)