Sinful Signs of a Slothful Servant

The greatest threat to you becoming nothing less than everything that God has called you to be is spiritual laziness that seeks to attack every believer’s life at some point. Just because laziness attacks does not mean you have to comply. The Bible calls it sloth. The parable of the faithful servants versus the slothful servant reveals a lot about God’s expectations when He makes an investment into our lives. God has given His people the breath in their lungs, all of their finances, and every gift and talent that they have for His glory. We must give God a return on His investment by using everything that He has given us to represent Him well on earth. The parable reveals how the kingdom of heaven is like the master and these servants. The word slothful means indolent, to avoid activity exertion of oneself because they are too lazy, backward, idle, work-shy, inactive, sluggish, apathetic, lethargic, slow-moving, slow, and slack. Consider these three signs of a sinful servant that is revealed through this parable.

Matthew 25:14-28 says, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. Then he who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.” But his lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.”

1. A SLOTHFUL PERSON IS AN UNGRATEFUL PERSON

The slothful servant took the one talent that was given to him dug in the ground and hid the lord’s money. You have to understand that he dug a hole and put it in the ground because he was ungrateful for what was given to him. Whatever God gives us in this life we must pause and be thankful because ungrateful hearts will bury the blessings, giving God no return on His investment in our lives. Are you grateful for your testimony, gifts, money, and all that God has given you? If you are grateful then you will use all that God has given you to advance the kingdom of God.

Philippians 4:11-12 says, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

2. A SLOTHFUL PERSON HAS FOOLISH REASONINGS

I have found that a slothful person errors in the way they reason about things. They say and do things absolutely unbiblical, but yet justify reasons based on their feelings. The Bible is clear that the servant who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.” He was literally saying that the problem was that the master was a hard man who was too hard for him. He was attempting to blame someone else for his own laziness. He takes it a step further out of his arrogance and says the master reaped where he has not sown and gathered where he did not scatter seed. The slothful servant is complaining and accusing his master and carrying the attitude that everything others do prospers but that it would not prosper in his case. We have all met people who once were lazy and buried their talent producing no return they suddenly act like it is everyone else’s fault why they did not prosper.

Within the mindset of this foolish reasoning, you find a slothful servant always fault-finding. When a person is unproductive in the kingdom they think their mission is to deflect attention off of themselves by trying to find faults in others. Those are lazy, slothful, unproductive people will not take responsibility.

Proverbs 18:9 says, “He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.”

Proverbs 10:4 says, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

3. A SLOTHFUL PERSON IS A FEARFUL PERSON

Fear will produce spiritual laziness and harbor a spirit of sloth in your life. The Bible says that the slothful servant was afraid, and went and hid the talent in the ground. The word afraid in Greek means terrified, filled with dread, frightened, and was to put flight. There are many people that have been blessed by God but yet when it comes to advancing His kingdom with their money, time, gifts of the Spirit, and personal testimony they have been seized by fear. The end result of fear is that they profit nothing in the kingdom of God. God has called His people to break off a spirit of fear that leads to spiritual laziness and utilize all that He has given them to advance the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”