“The person with the vice of sloth, or acedia, is not passively suffering depression or torpor, but is actively refusing to care, to be moved.” – Rebecca Konydyk DeYoung
As Augustine once argued, the Christian version of freedom is not the ability to do anything, but instead is the ability to choose the good. Today’s Christian is troubled when they do something wrong. That is sin. Inaction, on the other hand, is okay. The absence of action is maybe frowned upon, but it is that person’s right to choose to do nothing. Right?
Wrong. Christians are called to do good, period. There is no right to refusal. We are supposed to care about what hurts the heart of God, and not acting to do God’s kingdom work is simply not an option. It is only one thing: sin.