Skip to main content

Any Fellow Sloths Out There? // Jackson Riddle

To say this reading convicted me would be an understatement. Making the comparison between my own spiritual life, health and journey with that of a beginner is not far off; yes, I grew up in a religious home, so it would seem that I would have everything figured out by now, but in fact it's quite the opposite. Because of my exposure to religious ideas since infancy, I have almost begun to tune out the topics that seem repetitive. Such statements like "Jesus loves you" and "You should be a modern day David to Goliath" lose their significance because I assume I understand all there is to know about them. 

Regarding this week's reading, one thing in particular hit home with me and that's the idea of literal and spiritual sloth-like behavior. I don't know why this is, but if I don't have the pressure of a deadline staring me down, I don't do homework. Instead, I mull around on my phone, my playstation, whatever it is that distracts me from the work that inevitably must get done. Dark Night of the Soul touches on this in Chapter VII, and the line in particular that stuck out to me is "For, as they are so much accustomed to sweetness in spiritual things, they are wearied by things in which they find no sweetness". The truth in this statement is astounding. Just as I am so accustomed to the "sweetness" of my temporal distractions, I also find myself accustomed to a similar sweetness in spiritual things, so much so that I ignore that which lacks in sweetness (Numbers, for example, no thanks). All in all, this reading truly opened my eyes to the level of separation I was allowing to grow between myself and God in my spiritual life. I look forward to reading more. 

Comments

  1. Caroline TuckerApril 12, 2021 at 11:34 PM

    I agree. I also slothfull. One of the things that I heard one time that resonated with me on this point is that if you waste your time you are wasting time that God gave you. This means that you are wasting a gift and a grace when you waste time. To think of slothfulness in this way hurts, as it should. I am constantly reminding myself to use my time wisely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emmett BryantApril 13, 2021 at 9:10 AM

    I think all of us struggle with sloth-like behavior every once in a while. We try to ignore it and pretend we are not, but we all seem to slip into this way of living every once in a while, it just happens. I really like what you said about this work convicting you. It did me as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Logan TurnerApril 13, 2021 at 9:15 AM

    Yeah, I'm with you. Reading that part was like looking into a mirror for me. I am just like you in that I am a very slothful person, doing everything else instead of what I should be doing, but I work at it. I think the point of the reading is so that we come to some sort of realization of ourselves so we may doing something about it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aristotle Might Not Like Me...Or Jesus//Haylee Lynd

      Aristotle says that the man who does not get angry at the things he should be angry at "is thought unlikely to defend himself; and to endure being insulted and put up with insult to one's friends is slavish" (Aristotle 41). While he states that passivity is preferred to excessive anger, he still gives great criticism to it.  In contrast to Aristotle, the man who Christians believe to be the most just is Jesus who states in Matthew 5:39-40, "...do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well." Essentially, arguing that one is not to respond in anger when insulted or hurt, to not defend one's self. Most individual's are unable to achieve this. Our natural instinct is to defend ourselves, especially in physical cases. However, Christians strive to be like Jesus in this way. I would also argue that it is a very admirable wa...
2 comments
Read more

Oedipus’ Children/Siblings—Lily Caswell

Ok, so Oedipus is a bit of a train wreck to say the least. I love the fact that even after Oedipus found out about his less-than-appealing relationship with his mother, he still tried to look after his children/siblings. After he gouged his eyes out, his children came to him at which point Oedipus talked about how that when they were old enough to marry, no one would want them due to them being products of incest. He said for the people not to condemn them based on what their father had done. Even after he knew what he had done and what his children were, he still wanted the best for them. I commented on Logan’s and Ian’s posts.
3 comments
Read more

A Man with Self-Control? - Clabo

Throughout all of the ancient epics, the Aeneid has always been my favorite. I have always found Aeneas to be a virtuous warrior, and I was even reminded of this fact within the first three books. The main point that stands out to me is when Aeneas sees Helen hiding during the fall of Troy. He is overcome with anger and wants to kill her because she is one of the main reasons that the war started in the first place. However, he is patient and listens to his mother, Venus, and just decides to leave. I feel that if Achilles was placed in that same position, a goddess would not have even had the time to approach him before he had already killed her. Another thing that find impressive in Aeneas's character is the fact that is always slow to act whether it be in listening to the gods advice or even letting a Greek straggler on to his ship. Aeneas, to me, is the perfect example of a man who pursues virtue instead of glory.   This is just my opinion. What are your thoughts? P.S. I co...
6 comments
Read more