Posts Tagged: laziness

“Working with The Gift”

On July 27, 2022 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Most real things in life are simple. However, these simple things are almost always inherently complex. Take life, for example. There are lots of verses in the Bible that indicate that life is a gift. There are many others that point out that life is a task. Sometimes, this gift-life combination is spoken in the same breath. Here are two samples.

“See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’” (Deuteronomy 1:8, English Standard Version) The land was given to Israel, but they still had to go in and possess it.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work forhis good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13, English Standard Version) We are to work out the gift that God has worked into us.

One of my twelve-step readings today was particularly helpful for setting this gift-and-work tone for the day. It is from a book titled Touchstones, published by Hazelden.

“Wednesday, July 27

You cannot get it by taking thought;
You cannot seek it by not taking thought.
  —Zenrin poem

We are transported into unfamiliar worlds in this program by ideas that sometimes confound our mind. In the spiritual realms we learn things we didn’t learn anywhere else, and gradually they bring us peace. We can decide with our will to follow a spiritual direction, to turn our life and will over to the care of our God. We cannot control what God will do with them. When we learn that part of our problem was trying too hard, being too self-sufficient, or being too controlling, our old ways tell us to try hard to control that. But then we are only doing more of the same old thing. We learn that after making our decision, our Higher Power takes over. Now it is possible to be released from our own trying, to move beyond our own efforts by falling into the caring hand of God.

I must give this program first priority in my life, remembering my spiritual progress comes as a gift, not as an achievement.” (From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men.)

I was especially struck by the following sentences: “When we learn that part of our problem was trying too hard, being too self-sufficient, or being too controlling, our old ways tell us to try hard to control that. But then we are only doing more of the same old thing.”

Yes! I have often been guilty of trying to control the realization that I am not in control. I am like a dog chasing his own tail. I may be getting exercise, but I’m not really getting anywhere.

Life is hard work. Life is also a gift. When I am lazy and discontented (and discontentment is laziness for me frequently), I need to get busy and do the hard work. But when I get too focused on working hard (and do that occasionally), I need to call to mind the truth that life is a gift.

Don’t chase your own spiritual tail today, dear friends. Instead, fall into the hands of our (and your) loving God. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to work diligently through the day.

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“The Problem with Racism and Isms in General”

On August 1, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

DTEB, “The Problem with Racism and Isms in General”

The problem (or at least a problem) with racism and other isms is that isms are a form of laziness. This applies to “Christianism” as well as atheism, to sexism as well as racism. It also applies to ageism, whether this refers to the labeling of the old, the middle-aged, or the young.

Racism and all isms are a form of laziness because these isms pretend that we can simply lump people into certain groups, and then make certain assumptions and judgments about them.

But humans, and perhaps all other creatures, resist such lumping together. Even dogs and cats can’t be lumped together. “I like dogs better than cats because dogs are friendlier!” Oh, really?! You’ve never met Gracie, then! She is a friend’s gray cat. She likes to sit on my lap and purr while I pet her.

“Baptist ministers all like fried chicken!” Oh, really?! I was a Baptist minister for many years. Yes, I did in fact like fried chicken. However, some of my colleagues hated it.

The truth is that people are themselves. They are messy, unique individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses, with their own likes and dislikes. Isms are a lame and lazy attempt to find a shortcut to actually knowing people.

Of course, racism and other isms are deadly. You may think that “laziness” is too mild a word to use for something so horrible and fatal. However, you may be underestimating how serious laziness itself is.

I once knew a lazy homeowner. He knew that the railing around his upstairs veranda was getting rotten. However, he was too busy (or lazy?) to fix it. A guest, not knowing the danger, leaned on it, and fell to the concrete below. He was paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life.

Lazy racism and other isms are a serious matter. I refuse to allow myself or anyone I love to bask in such laziness without a challenge.

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“High Standards and Great Gentleness”

On June 13, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I have high standards—for other people.

When I drive, I expect everyone else on the road to drive carefully and appropriately.  They should drive not more than five miles over the speed limit (unless, of course, I want to go faster, and there’s no state trouper around).  They should not tailgate me.  They must not text or talk on the phone.  (Was that my phone ringing?  I had better take that call.  I’m expecting an important 12-step call, and I can drive pretty well with my knees on the steering wheel.)

Yes, I have very high standards for other people.  Far too often, I have very high standards for myself as well.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking.  Aren’t high standards a good thing?

My response to that question is terribly unsatisfying.  “It depends.”  Certainly, I want my doctor to have high standards for herself.  And I think she does.

My pastor and my mechanics?  Check!  My students?  Yes indeed!  Myself?  Yes again!

On the other hand, high standards can lead to serious problems.  In fact, high standards can be a problem.  Perhaps an illustration would help.

I am a teacher, and a good one, who wants to become even better.  Nothing wrong with that.

Or is there?  The answer is, “Sometimes, yes, there is something wrong with that.”  There are times when I set such high standards for myself that I over-prepare, and then try to throw everything I have learned at my students.  They get frustrated, I get frustrated, and real learning—and even the desire for real learning—goes out the window.  A lot of what I call “laziness” or “procrastination” is actually a function of my impossibly high standards, that keeps me from finishing my preparation.  I can never prepare enough to meet my standards, so I end up with half-finished lesson plans.

High standards for others can lead to unnecessary frustration, but high standards for myself can really tie me up in knots.  In truth, excessively high standards can lead to lower performance.

So the antidote to impossibly high standards is to have no standards, right?

No.

The antidote to excess in one direction is not excess in the opposite direction.  In driving a car, the best way to keep from going into the right-hand ditch is not oversteering and ending up in the left-hand ditch.  It’s generally best to stay on the road.

But is there a road to avoid the dangers posed by both high standards and no standards?  I believe there is.  It is called “the golden mean.”  It goes back at least to Aristotle’s work, Nicomachean Ethics.  Many philosophies and religions have adopted and adapted it.  (The most relevant name for Christians is Aquinas.)

The basic idea of the golden mean is simple: What we need to be practicing is not extremes, even in virtues.  For example, if a person practices courage, that’s good.  However, if a person goes too far in that direction, it becomes recklessness, which is not good.

So, having standards is good.  But so are gentleness and humility—gentleness and humility with others and even with ourselves.

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“There’s a Lion on the Loose!”

On July 30, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder at the young age of fifty-two.  My wife’s response was, “This explains a lot!”

That may be true.  A.D.D. is a real thing and a real explanation.  However, as with anything else, A.D.D. can be used as an excuse.   When anything—even something real—is used as an excuse, it becomes unreal and evil.

So, recognizing that I am more prone than the average bear to have difficulty paying attention does not give me a free pass.  Quite the contrary!  It means that I need to spend more emotional energy seeking to focus on what I need/deeply want to do.

The same thing may be said about me that was said by one wise commentator about the lazy person and the lion in Proverbs 22:13.  “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!’”  Christine Roy Yoder comments on this verse,

No excuse is too absurd for the lazy.  One pictures the sluggard curled up inside (e.g., 19:15, 24; 26:14-15) and pointing outside, stammering about an imaginary lion wandering the streets (cf. 26:13).   . . .  [T]he verb räcaH  (“to kill”) is typically used for a homicide that particularly offends the community, such as the killing of an innocent citizen . . . .  The sluggard’s unprecedented use of the verb to describe an animal attack and, implicitly, to characterize himself as innocent lends further ridiculousness to the claim.  (Christine Roy Yoder, Proverbs, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries (Nashville: Abingdon, 2009), 226.)

Whether I am struggling with A.D.D. or laziness (and I do struggle with both), or with anything else, the underlying principle is the same: No excuses allowed! Perhaps the A.D.D. and laziness are not the most serious problem anyway.  Perhaps it’s the excuses that are fatal.  The excuses are the lion, and they will devour my dreams, my time, my very life.

But how can I recognized an excuse, you ask?  One simple rule of thumb is this: If I am having to spend very much time explaining why something is right, either to myself or to someone else, it isn’t an explanation.  It’s an excuse.

So, I think I’ll declare a new holiday: No Excuse Day.  It is a floating holiday, and will be observed only on days that begin with the letter “T”: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Tomorrow, and Today.

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DTEB, “TAKING THE OLD MAN OUT OF THE DRIVER’S SEAT”

On June 15, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“ . . . put off . . . the old man . . .” (Ephesians 4:22, King James Version).

 

I had an interesting dream last night.  Well, it began as a dream, swiftly transitioned into a nightmare, and then became a dream again.  Now that I am more or less awake, I regard it as a cautionary tale.

In my dream, my wife and I were going somewhere with “an older couple” (which means older than us).  The older guy was driving.  I was riding shotgun.  Shortly after getting up to speed, we ran off the road.  I looked over at the driver, and the old man had fallen asleep.

We went down a fairly steep embankment, but the car didn’t roll or start fishtailing.  I felt panicky, but tried to keep my wits about me.  We were off the road, but in a flat place now.  I tried to wake up the driver, but he was sound asleep.  Finally, I grabbed the steering wheel, and applied the brake.  It took an unbearably long time, but eventually, I was able to stop the car.  The old man woke up, but I drove the rest of the way to our destination.

Then, I woke up from my dream.

In the passage from Ephesians that I quoted at the top of this post, Paul encourages the believers to whom he is writing to “put off the old man.”  Modern translations try to convey the thought, rather than translating literally.  I get that.  It is a good way to go about translation.  More modern folks are likely to read it and understand the gist of it. One modern translation, the New American Standard,  has “. . . lay aside the old self . . . ,” which is certainly a fine translation.

 

On the other hand, I am still rather fond of the King James translation.  The Greek word for “man” is “anthropon,” the general Greek word for human beings.  We get our modern word “anthropology” from the Greek word.

 

So, why do I take my dream/nightmare as a cautionary tale?  I didn’t have a fatal crash yesterday during my waking hours.  But I did run off the road, in terms of my life.  I didn’t kill anyone or do anything illegal or horribly immoral.  However, . . .

However, I didn’t accomplish a lot of things on my to-be-and-to-do list, and I played a lot of computer games.

And I mixed up a Pillsbury Plus cake mix, and ate it raw.  I thought that I intended to just eat a little of it.  And I did!  And then a little more.  And then a lot more.  And then, I said to myself, “The refrigerator is pretty full.  Why don’t I put this in a smaller container, so that it won’t take up quite so much space?”  I decided to do that, but I also decided to take a few more bites.  Then, I said to myself, “Hey, I’m almost done with this, so why don’t I really economize on refrigerator space (and dishes), and polish this off?”  So, that is what I did!

Did you know that cake batter expands in your stomach, just like it does in the oven?  It does!  I probably could have made room for the cake batter in the refrigerator.  I certainly made room for it in my stomach.

The point of this sad little tale is that, even though I had not done anything horrible, and even though I did get some worthwhile things done, I had put the old man—my old man—in the driver’s seat.  I had done so by practicing gluttony and laziness, which the Catholic Church recognizes as two of the mortal sins.  The old man, even when he is asleep, can do a great deal of damage.  However the good, but sobering, news is this: I never actually have to let the old man drive.

So, I woke up this morning after my nightmare determined to put off the old man, to not let him in the driver’s seat today.  I woke up determined to let the new man, the man I am in Christ, do the driving today.

In this same passage in Ephesians, Paul instructs his hearers about what they are to do, once they have “put off the old man” (4:23).  Paul writes, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”  The Greek word for “renew” can also mean “to become young again.”  I think that I have discovered the fountain of youth!

So far today, so good for me!

How about you, gentle reader?  Who is in your driver’s seat right now: the old man or the Holy Spirit who makes you young again?

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