Languidness, lacksidaisicalness, laziness: sloth is all about wanting to do nothing. The sin of sloth is metaphorically linked to the animal of the same name; a tree-dwelling mammal that does nothing but eat and sleep.
I consider sloth to actually be one of the more harmful sins, as its consequences lack consequences. Nothing will come of it. No good and no damage can result from sloth.
In other words, the slothful cannot contribute to themselves, to others or to society in general. The gluttonous, the lustful and the greedy may lead trivial lives of exquisite hedonistic pleasure. While these lives may be petty, limited and unremarkable, they no doubt have magnificient experiences as sinners in this regard.
The slothful are different however. They enjoy nothing except inactivity, which means not only do they achieve nothing in life, their experiences of life are lacklustre at best. I enjoy moments of abject laziness, not to mention sleeping and veging out on the couch. But I do more than this; my day is worth something because I achieve something or experience something new.
Sloth isn't a sin because is wrong to enjoy your days of relaxation, moments of tranquility and holidays. After weeks, months and years of hard work, I deserve to whatever I want with my off-days. True laziness is an evil because it means our desires are negligible and unambitious, or that our willpower is feeble.
Idle hands are not the devil's playthings. But they are indicative of an underwhelming existence.
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