Sloth divine
March 17th, 2006why do people always think being lazy is a bad thing? You lazy bum! I don’t know what number it has, but laziness or sloth as it is known, is one of the deadly sins. (it’s #7; ed. note)
Actually, sloth is the most noble of human qualities. The divine nature of sloth should be apparent to all. Everywhere, creatures seek to find a place for rest and reflection. Survival is the only motivating factor to interrupt this heavenly activity. Working hard to prepare a shelter or store food provide safety and comfort for resting.
As creatures became more intelligent, they developed tools and many other strategies to streamline the survival related activities and maximize the time available for rest and reflection.
As our memories developed, the perception of time led us to other abstract thinking and ultimately, sentience. Somewhere along this path, the divine quality of sloth came into question, as other divinities were proposed in its place.
(Note that despite intelligence and sentience, not all humans behave rationally, or, as I propose to put it, understand “preemptive sloth” strategies.)
Also, society grew and became organized, and it became inconvenient for the ruling classes to let the gray masses live as God intended, so the work ethic was invented.