Question of the Day: If you had to die from one of the seven deadly sins, which sin would terrify you the most? I know my answer, but I want to know yours.
As a reminder, here as the seven deadly sins, according to the Roman Catholic Church: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth.
One of these cardinal sins drives me especially insane and I work extra hard to never commit it: The sin of slothfulness or laziness.
All of those sins are particularly damaging to an individual, and therefore harm society, but the vice of laziness has become so ubiquitous in American society that it must be addressed.
I rarely commit that sin, but when it does occur, it’s usually in extraordinary circumstances such as a few weeks ago when I was on an 18-hour plane ride. I binge-watched an entire season of a TV show, and I felt so sloppy — something I would never have done had I not been entrapped in a silver tube flying across the sky.
For me, being trapped in the sin of laziness is terrifying. Yet for many others, the sin of slothfulness is so commonplace that its opposite virtue — hard work — seems rare.
So for example, my husband and I were in the Atlanta airport and had limited options for food before our trip to Africa. My husband wanted tacos and I wanted chicken, so we split up to different restaurants.
Although there wasn’t a rush of customers, the line for the chicken place was long. Then I saw why. The young girl taking orders wouldn’t get off of her phone. She just could not care. She refused to stop texting or scrolling Instagram in front of each customer. She was dressed slovenly. Then, suddenly, she completely disappeared without an explanation, leaving customers hopeless. Even the cook was confused, so he jumped in to do her job while she was gone.
Finally, because I was starving and annoyed, I ditched that restaurant line and joined my husband in his line.
Who do I see socializing at the cash register at this new establishment? The girl from the chicken stand!
She wasn’t working two jobs — she was chatting away, giggling and on her phone with a taco stand worker of a similar attitude.
Each of these ladies were content with being lazy.
Now, what really drove me so mad is you just knew that these two would be the loudest girls at a Black Lives Matter protest. The content of their character and slothfulness displayed told me they would be out there in the streets talking about the so-called oppression of black people in America, chanting along with the BLM crowd demanding everything under the sun for free.
What really made the Atlanta airport scene stick out, though, was the difference in attitude we witnessed when we arrived in Africa.
While on the trip, my husband and I met with black people — who, arguably, have been truly oppressed, impoverished, and faced true injustice in their lives. Yet those folks still worked hard day in and day out. The folks I met abroad would never consider themselves ‘oppressed’ — despite not having any of the same liberties or freedoms we are blessed with in the USA. Despite that, many Americans claim “the system” is to blame for their lack of happiness.
Well, no, perhaps the deadly sin of slothfulness can explain why you aren’t getting ahead in life the way you think you’re entitled to. Maybe, if you worked hard, then you could get ahead.
Now, I’ve worked many different jobs over the years — waitressing, at a gym, blockbuster, and more — and no matter what job I’ve had I always give 100%.
Granted, people can have a bad day and can’t give it their all or don’t perform to the best of their ability. That happens. Other individuals, however, willfully choose to shirk their duty and put in minimal effort.
For example, I used to have a nanny who would send me a picture of highway traffic every morning, saying, “Running late! Be there soon!” It drove me up the wall.
If that happens every day, it isn’t the traffic’s fault you’re late. You’re to blame. You need to wake up earlier and head out the door.
It might be a big change for you or you, but you can’t use traffic as a crutch to excuse your laziness. If you need to alter your day-to-day life to be successful wherever you’re working — then get to it.
For some reason, that’s difficult for many people to accept, especially in our country. Americans love to complain but refuse to make a significant effort to better their lives. It seems they’d rather be lazy and miserable than hard-working and happy.
Consider how many people promise to make a “resolution” each year on January 1, and then quit five days later. We want to be better, but our brain comes up with a million reasons why we can’t do something.
Well, I am telling you this: You can be better. Society wants to tell you your excuses are valid and self-improvement isn’t possible for you. Well, I want to tell you, they aren’t valid.
Set your alarm clock earlier. Realize how remarkably privileged you are to live in America. Whatever your goal is, get up and work for it.
This doesn’t even apply to your career — it could be losing weight, learning a new skill, reading a book, or any other goal.
Laziness will kill your dream and kill your talent if you let it.
Sloth is called a deadly sin for a reason. It’s a cancer that poisons you, and in turn, kills our society when it spreads to enough Americans. Even if you aren’t a Christian, most people know laziness isn’t good for them — yet they refuse to do anything about it and the culture encourages them to stay where they are.
The only antidote is hard work. Nobody cares about your complaints.
Be better, work hard, and believe you can do this.