YOUTH | Sermons from Youth Sunday
Words and wisdom from some of the Youth at Downtown Church.
Listen or read their sermons from Youth Sunday.
Libbie Williams
Hi! My name is Libbie Williams and I am a junior at Hammond School. Outside of school I participate in my school’s choir as well as every drama production Hammond puts on. During the summers I am a junior counselor at Camp Gravatt and this previous summer I worked a part time job at a dog boarding facility when I was not at camp.
Now, I’m not trying to list my resume, I do that enough for my college counselors, but I wanted to explain why when I first heard that the subject for this sermon was sloth, I was a little worried. The thing is, my schedule leaves very little time for sitting around or being lazy, which is what I originally pictured sloth to be.
I imagine many of you have similarly busy schedules. Though the actual things we’re busy with may be different; for example where I have school you may have work, where I have extracurriculars you may have children you drive to their extracurriculars, and where I have homework you have adult things, I don’t know taxes? But the more I thought about it, the more I began to think about all the slothful things my busy schedule allows me to excuse. For example, all the times I’ve told myself I don’t need to eat breakfast with my family, because I want to look over my bio homework before I have to be at school by 7 for choir practice. Or those weeks when I’ve just not seen my parents at all because I’ve spent so much time at school.
Sloth for me looks like choosing not to put the work into human connection. And honestly human connections are the things that I will remember and that God will remember, not any of these earthly accomplishments that come from all these chores with which we fill our lives. Things like conversations with family or friends, being there for people, and sometimes just being nice should always be where we put the work in. Because those are the things that matter. Ultimately, it will not matter to God if I get an A or a B in Bio. What does matter to God is if I am short with my sister because I stayed up late studying, if I fail to support a friend because I had to finish some homework, if I decide not to form and nurture human connections because I was too busy being busy that I chose to be lazy in the areas that matter the most.
Ecclesiastes 10:18 says ‘through sloth, the roof sinks in.’ We can’t let our relationships be caught in the wreckage.
It’s okay not to be perfect in every area of our lives, and sometimes we all have to prioritize certain things over others. But we should make sure what we’re prioritizing are the people in our lives and the relationships we have with them, because it’s the people in life that truly matter.
Don’t be slothful with them.
Rory Trout
Good morning, my name is Rory Trout and I’m a sophomore at Cardinal Newman. Similarly to Libbie, my initial understanding of sloth was that it was tied solely to laziness. For example, I was slothful when I wrote this sermon the night it was due. But this was because I was watching my March Madness bracket fall apart. However, the more I’ve thought about it, I think sloth is more of an intentional avoidance. An avoidance of responsibilities, of people, and of God.
The scripture reading today talks about how those who are slothful lose their foundation. When we avoid God, our spiritual foundation struggles. I’d argue that it’s a choice to be attentive to God, just as it’s a choice to be avoidant towards God. I think it’s a choice we have to make every day.
I’d like to share a quick story with you all. My family and I moved to Columbia when I was in seventh grade. I had a tough time with the transition and trying to find my people. Middle school can be a really hard place and, no matter how hard I tried, I could not find where I belonged there. I spent so much time every day talking to God and asking for help. Eventually I got tired of praying and praying and nothing had changed. I was fed up with God. I found myself at a crossroads. I could easily give up on God, fall into a slothful pattern, and let my spiritual foundation crumble. Or, I could keep being attentive towards God, even when I was fed up. I chose to keep praying. I kept asking God for help, and I kept letting God know how I felt about the whole situation. I leaned into my church family. For me, going to church on Sundays and youth group throughout the week helped to keep me going, even when school was really tough. Eventually, I was able to switch schools, find my people, and it is working out.
I share this story because it was an ‘Ah-Ha’ moment for me. It made me realize God is listening, God won’t give up on me, so I won’t give up on God.
I’m sure we all have dealt, or will deal, with situations like mine that lead us to a crossroad where we may want to become slothful and give up on God. However, the scripture reminds us that to do so would be devastating. Our house will leak, our roof will sink in, our foundation will crumble.
For me, Sunday church and prayer are the ways I am attentive to God. For a friend of mine, being attentive to God looks like being outside and spending time in God’s creation. I think there are lots of ways to grow your relationship with God and prioritize your faith. And they can look different week to week. The important thing is just that we keep working at it every day. God never gives up on us, so what can we do to be sure we’re not becoming slothful with God?
Callie Doty
Hi everybody! I’m Callie, and I have been attending Downtown Church for as long as I can remember. I am so grateful for the foundation that this holy community has provided for me as I prepare to start my life at Wofford college.
I want to begin today by unpacking the scripture reading. Through sloth, the roof sinks in. It is life altering. When our roof sinks in, life cannot go on as normal. We are no longer safe; we can no longer come home after a long day and cozy up on the couch. And the cause of such devastation?... Sloth. Now, we may not be referring to actual roofs in the scripture, but the impact is just as devastating. You may be thinking “the house will leak, things will go wrong, but I can fix it”. The reality is, the long-term solutions aren’t found here on earth, they are found in our relationship with God. To create a better image, Imagine the house is who we are, our core foundation. When that roof sinks in, we see the devastation all throughout our relationships. For such an innocent sounding word, the deadly sin of sloth can cause such extreme impacts
I’d argue that busyness is one of the top causes of slothfulness. I know that may sound counterintuitive but hear me out.
When we hear slothfulness, you may picture a slow moving, lazy sloth. Maybe hanging out in a tree, sleeping, eating food; overall not very productive right? As I thought about how I resonated with sloth myself, I’m not sure that this image truly reflects its whole meaning. In my life, I feel like this sin looks more like a bee, constantly moving from place to place and getting things done.
With a busy schedule, I love a “to-do list”, checking off each box after completing a homework assignment, doing chores, or getting groceries. It makes me feel productive and accomplished, but somehow not satisfied. Let me give you an example. Most of my days look like this: wake up, school, work out, homework assignment, study for tomorrow’s test, go to work and cross my fingers for a five-dollar tip, come home and crash. Even though this day sounds super productive, I realized I never took a moment to actually be. I wasn’t living in the present, I was living for the future, simply getting things done to prove to others I could. It’s like I had God on ‘Do Not Disturb.’ I was too caught up in my ‘To Do’ list and what felt like my top priorities.
But, if you asked me what my top values are, I promise I would not say ‘homework and a $5 tip.’ I would say ‘my relationship with God, my family, and myself.’ So why don’t the actions of my everyday reflect these values? Is it because my intention is to be viewed as successful, instead of reflecting the image of God?
After sitting down with Pastor Charles, we wondered what if, instead of just my ‘to do’ list, I created a ‘to be’ list. Today I want to be patient, present, and kind. Now I still have to do all the regular demands of my life, but maybe I can do these things with my ‘To Be’ list in mind.
For example, as we sit down for family dinner in my house, I often take my food upstairs to spend more time checking off my to-do list instead of spending quality time with my family. It’s a spiritual idleness. Missing one family dinner may not seem like a big deal at the time, but that leak, if not nurtured and treated, may lead to the roof sinking in. If I continue to avoid my relationship with God and others, what impact will that have on my life?
What if, instead I add to my list ‘Be: present.’ This doesn’t do my homework assignment for me, but it reminds me not to neglect the facets that fulfill my spirituality. I can find balance. I can get my work done, and I can watch Jeopardy with my mom.
Maybe for you, this looks more like; To Do: make dinner, To Be: nurturing. Or To Do: file that tax return, To Be: productive. No matter how it looks to you, maybe adding a To Be list could help us integrate God into our everyday and steer away from slothfulness.
We all have autonomy of our spiritual lives, so, I challenge all of us to live our everyday through Christ, doing the same motions but shifting our intentions towards fulfillment. How can you show up every day and be attentive to God and others and avoid slothfulness? What would you put on your ‘To Be’ list?