What can I do about laziness?
Christian life demands a constant struggle against difficulties and temptations.
When we allow ourselves to be dominated by a comfortable lifestyle, negligent tiredness, and inconstancy, laziness appears.
Laziness (or sloth) is a repugnance of the soul to work’s efforts and difficulties necessary to acquire and preserve the virtues, or to fulfill one’s moral obligations.
Laziness when related to our obligations towards God is called tepidity.
It can be manifested as an "I-don't-care feeling" or sadness when facing a spiritual good that one needs to achieve.
It can also appear as spiritual apathy, by showing displeasure and aversion to attentive prayer and growth in one's relationship with God.
Laziness can lead to neglect of one's duties due to the labor they require. It can also result in depression, due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, and carelessness of the heart.
Sloth, or laziness, is considered one of the seven capital sins, while diligence is a virtue that opposes it.
A lazy person is not only one who spends his time without doing anything, but also one who undertakes many random things but refuses to fulfill his concrete obligations. He chooses his occupations according to the caprice of the moment. He accomplishes them without energy, and the minimum difficulty is sufficient to change his work.
The lazy person is incapable of undertaking continuous, profound work and finishing it. He doesn’t set the last stones to what he has begun. The Lord refers to the punishment the lazy person deserves: Every tree that does not bear fruit will be felled and thrown into the fire.
Laziness can be a mortal sin if it leads someone to defy a serious obligation willingly, or if it causes distress at the prospect of what one must do for God.
Overcoming laziness requires patience, accepting the dark night of faith, setting practical goals, and relying on Jesus. Perseverance, even when one is not acknowledged or mistreated, is essential.
To fight laziness, we must consider the work of Jesus Christ, the dangers it brings about, and the grandeur of the eternal reward.
We must consider that time belongs to God, we are just borrowing it; we must administer it and bear fruit. Every second is valuable for eternity.
Diligence in work, beginning with enthusiasm, is equivalent to having done more than half.
Intense work doesn’t mean activism. Precipitation is a way of wasting your time. Things must be done with order, devoting to them the time their importance may require.
We must fight from the first moment of the day, getting up on time, at a fixed time, without yielding a minute to laziness. If, with God’s help, you overcome yourself, you will have a lot advanced for the rest of the day.
Get rid of useless thoughts. Avoid idleness, considering that resting is not “doing nothing” but engaging in activities that demand less effort, like playing sports or cultivating a hobby.
Laziness, fueled by pride, can lead to the death of the soul.
It causes one to neglect necessary tasks, become indecisive, and give in to lower desires.
The sluggard avoids work and ultimately suffers the consequences of their inaction.
Diligence is related to industriousness. It involves attentiveness to one's business and a willingness to work to support oneself and others.
True progress in spiritual life comes not from multiplying ecstasies, but from persevering through difficult times in our duties.