Link: Read full article here - Work-Life Balance: Advice for Attaining Peacefulness in Daily Routines and (denvercatholic.org
In his book Overcoming the Evil Within, Father of Mercy Wade Menezes notes that virtue lies between two extremes, saying, “It is important to recognize that each of the capital sins has not only an opposite virtue to counteract it, but also an opposite extreme that, though antithetical to it, can do just as much damage in a person’s life.”
Relevant to our focus on work-life balance, the capital sin of sloth comes readily to mind. While it is easy to recognize our slothfulness when we are actively avoiding what we know we ought to do, preferring instead to engage in myriad distractions, we are less likely to recognize sloth in the workaholism and frenetic activity of our modern culture. Both, however, are sides of the same sinful coin.
Msgr. Charles Pope explains, “Many people today equate sloth with laziness. But sloth is not merely laziness; it is more properly understood as sorrow or indifference. While sloth may sometimes look like boredom and a casual laziness toward attaining spiritual good, it can also be manifested by a frantic ‘busyness’ with worldly things so as to avoid spiritual questions or living a reflective life.” We can see, therefore, that an imbalance in our work lives, either by working too little or too much, makes us vulnerable to the sin of sloth, which, if left unchecked, can lead us to a spiritual apathy whereby we become the lukewarm souls that Our Lord warned he would “vomit out of his mouth” (Revelation 3:16).