Of Unfruitfulness, as It Consists in Idleness

Considerations to Deter Men From It

 Unfruitfulness is a fit subject to conclude a discourse of liberty with. It may best   be understood by comparing it with a state of wickedness: From which as it is usually distinguished in the notion of the vulgar, so does it really differ on many accounts. The one forgets God  the other condemns him; the one has no relish of that which is good, the other finds too much gust in that which is evil, the one makes us  by degrees enemies, the other strangers to God. In short, there is little doubt to be made, that the omission of a duty and the commission of a crime, lukewarmness in that which is good and eagerness in that which is evil may and generally do differ in the degrees of guilt: From hence it is (the sinner being always a partial Judge of himself) that it is not unusual for many, who seem to have some abhorrence of wickedness, to be far from apprehending much evil in unfruitfulness. This is a fatal error,  it frustrates the great design of religion and robs it of  its truest honor, good works. For what can religion effect by that man, who retains nothing of it but the bare form and profession and dares promise himself not only impunity, but a heaven, in an useless and unprofitable life

Unfruitfulness, if more particularly enquired into consists in two things, a neglect of duty, or a lifeless and unprofitable performance of it. The former I will call idleness, the latter lukewarmness and treat of each in order.

Sect. 1. Of  idleness. The omission of a duty may be either habitual, or occasional and accidental: And accordingly the case of omission may be very different.

1.  An  habitual omission of duty cannot consist with sincerity. A general neglect of duty defeats the main end of religion, which is to honor God, adorn our holy profession, and promote the good of human society; all which can never be attained but by following after righteousness and abounding in the fruits of it.    By this rule, an idle though innocent life, must necessarily be accounted irreligious and vicious. He who does not pray, nor meditate, nor pursue any end of charity, though he be otherwise blameless in his life, yet because he does not work righteousness, because he is so far from imitating the zeal of the blessed Jesus therefore must he not be looked upon as a disciple  of Jesus but an alien and a stranger. He whose life is spent in vanity or drudgery, in pleasure or business; though his pleasure be not impure, nor his business unjust, yet is he, before God, a criminal, because unprofitable: He has received the grace of God in vain.; the light of the gospel has risen upon him in vain; and he has served no interest of virtue or religion in his generation and therefore he will be excluded heaven, with the slothful servant, who hid his master's talent in a napkin.

2.  The  case of an accidental or occasional omission of duty is different from this. An occasional omission may be, not only lawful, but necessary; but the neglect of duty never can be either. A single omission, wherever there is sufficient reason for it, can neither grieve the spirit, nor frustrate the design of religion; nor consequently imply any corruption in the heart. But then we must take Care.

1st, that our omission be not frequent. We must always have regard in this matter of duty, to the great end of its injunction:   We must take care that our omissions be not so often, that either the honor of our religion, or the welfare of our neighbor, suffer by it. Nor must we so often omit prayers, reading, the sacrament and the like, as thereby to abate, or much less extinguish, our spiritual fervor. Omission of duty, often repeated, breeds a kind of lukewarmness; and lukewarmness soon passes into coldness; and this often ends in a reprobate mind, and an utter aversion for religion.

2ndly, we  must endeavor some way or other to compensate the omission of a duty; to supply by short ejaculations, what we have been forced to retrench from regular prayer. And he that watches for opportunities, either of improvement, or doing good, will never have reason to complain of the want of them: God will put into his hands either the one or the other; and for the choice, he cannot do better than follow God’s.

3dly, A single omission must never proceed from a sinful motive; from a love of the world, or indulgence to the body. Necessity or charity is the only just apology for it. Instrumental or positive duties may give way to moral ones; the religion of the means, to the religion of the end and in moral duties, the less may give way to the greater. But duty must never give way to sin, nor religion to interest or pleasure.

 Having  thus briefly given an account, what omission of duty is, and what is not sinful. I will propose some considerations, to deter men from it; and such advice as may be the best Guard against it

 The first thing I would have every one lay to heart is, that a state of idleness is a state of damnable sin. Idleness is directly repugnant to the great ends of God, both in our creation and redemption. As to our creation: Can we imagine, that God, who created not anything but for some excellent end, should create man for none, or for a silly one The spirit within us is an active principle; our rational faculties qualify us for doing good; this is the proper work of reason, the most natural pleasure of a rational soul. Who can think now, that our wise creator lighted this candle within us, that we might stifle it by negligence and idleness That he contrived and destined such a mind, to squander its talents in vanity and impertinence As to our redemption, it is evident both what the design of it is, and how opposite idleness is to it. Christ gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity; and to purify to Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. ii. 14.  And this is what our regeneration aims at: We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them, Eph. ii. xo. How little then can a useless and barren life answer the expectations of God What a miserable return must it be to the blood of his son; and how utterly must it disappoint all the purposes of his spirit

But what need I argue further The truth I contend for is the express and constant doctrine of the scripture: Are not idleness and fullness of bread reckoned amongst the sins of Sodom What means the sentence against the barren fig tree, but the destruction and damnation of the idle and the sluggish The indignation of God is not enkindled against the barrenness of trees, but men. What can be plainer than the condemnation of the unprofitable servant, who perished because he had not improved his talent, Matt. xxv. 38. And how frequently does the Apostle declare himself against the idle and disorderly And all this proceeds upon plain grounds: Our Lord was an example of virtue, as well as innocence and He did not only refrain from doing evil, but He went about doing good. We can never satisfy the intention of divine precepts by negative righteousness: When God prohibits the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, He enjoins the perfecting holiness in his fear.  When he forbids us to do evil,  He at the same time prescribes the learning to do well. What need I multiply words   Idleness is a flat contradiction to faith, hope, charity,  to fear, vigilance, mortification and therefore must be a damning sin:

These are all active and vigorous principles; but idleness enfeebles and dispirits, manacles and fetters us: These are pure, strict and self-denying principles; but idleness is soft and indulgent: These conquer the world and the body, raise and exalt the mind,  but idleness is far from attempting anything that is good,  it pampers the body, and effeminates the mind; and finally, whatever innocence or inoffensiveness it may pretend to, it does not only terminate in sin, but has its beginning from stupidity and ignorance, from vanity and levity, from softness and sensuality.

    2. Next after the nature, the consequences of idleness are to be considered; and if it be taken in the utmost latitude, there is scarce any sin which is more justly liable to so many tragical accusations; for it is the parent of dishonor and poverty and of most of the sins and calamities of this life.

But at present I view it only as it is drawn with a half face and that the much less deformed of the two: I consider it here as pretending to innocence and flattering itself with the hopes of happiness: And yet even thus, supposing it as harmless as it can be, yet still there will be the miserable effects of it: It will rob religion, and the world, of the service due to both: It will bereave us of the pleasure of life and the comfort of death and send us down at last to a cursed enemy. For where are the virtues that should maintain the order and beauty of human society that should relieve and redress the miseries of the world  Where are the virtues that should vindicate the honor of religion, and demonstrate its divinity as effectively as predictions or miracles do Where are the bright examples that should convert the unbelieving part of mankind and inflame the believing part with a generous emulation Certainly  the lazy Christian, the slothful servant, can pretend to nothing of this kind. As to the pleasure of life, if pure and spiritual, it is easy to discern from what fountains it must be drawn. Nothing but poverty of spirit can procure our peace, nothing but purity of heart our pleasure. But  how far are the idle from these virtues Faith, hope and love are the seeds of them: Victories and triumphs, devotion, alms and good works are the fruits of them. But what a stranger to these is the drone and sluggard Then for the comfort of death: He that sees nothing but a vial wilderness behind him will scarcely like the Israelites, see a Canaan before him. When the conscience enquires after the effects of the word, and the spirit, and the blood of Jesus, and can discover in all the paths of life, no tracks of anything but fancy and fortune, humor and indulgence; how will it shrink, and faint, and tremble! What melancholy doubts will damp and choke its hope! And how can it be otherwise We know every man shall receive according to what he has done in the body.     God will judge every man according to his works: What then must become of him who has none to shew If immortality and glory, if life and peace, be the reward of well doing, nay, of patient continuance in well doing, what will become of the drowsy, the supine, the careless and the sluggish, who have slept and fooled and trifled away life

3.  I might aggravate the guilt of idleness, by taking an estimate of the talents it wastes, the obligations it slights and the hopes it forfeits.   I might render man more apprehensive of falling into it by observing how generally it prevails, which is a plain proof, either of the strength of the temptation or of our propension, either that there is .I know not what secret magic in the sin, or else that the cheat of imposes upon the world is a very dexterous one.  But I have said enough and where the former considerations fail, these will hardly succeed.  Therefore, I will now pass on from arguments to advice, which was the next thing proposed to be done.

And here my advice must have regard to two sorts of persons.

First, to such as are born to plentiful or competent fortunes

Secondly, to such as are to raise their own or to provide for support and maintenance of themselves and their families by their industry in some calling or profession.

To the former, the best directions I can give, are these:

1.  He that is master of his time, ought to devote the more to religion.  To whom God hath given much, of him much will be required.  Nor has such a one any excuse left either for omission or a hasty and cursory performance of duty, but one that will increase his guilt i.e. laziness, pleasure or some sin or other.   Such a one therefore ought to be diligent in frequenting the public assemblies of the church, his attendance upon prayer, sacraments, sermons, must be such as becomes a man who seems born not to provide for life, but only to live, only to improve and enjoy life and carry on the nobler designs of it and as becomes a man whose good or ill example is of such vast importance to religion.  Nor must such an one's attendance on the public excuse him from the religious offices of the closet or his family, he ought to abound in each.  He may be more frequent in mediation and prayer, in reading and instruction and perform each with more solemnity than others can.

2.  Persons of fortune ought to be careful in the choice of friends.  Conversation is not always a loss but sometimes a gain of time.  We often need to have our forgetfulness relieved, our drowsiness awakened by the discourses of our friends.  If discourse were generally seasoned with grace, conversation would be the greatest blessing.  If with sense and reason, innocence and prudence it would be the most agreeable entertainment of life.  But how mischievous is the acquaintance which infects us with vanity and lightness of spirit which shews us nothing but a gaudy outside and a frothy sound whose example binds men in civility to be foolish and makes confidence and vice and loss of time a fashion.

3.  It were to be wished that persons of rank, were ever bred upto something to something that might improve their minds, something that might employ life without encumbering it.  And yet alas!  what need I wish this  How many excellent qualities are necessary to render a gentleman worthy of the station where God has placed him  Let him pursue these.  How many are the virtues, how many are the duties to which a Christian is obliged  Let him attend these.  There is a great deal requisite to make a god master, a good neighbor, a good father, a good son, a good neighbor, a good parishioner, an excellent subject and an excellent friend and yet there are many other relations besides these.  In a word, there is no man who when he shall appear before God, will not be found to have omitted many duties and to have performed many others with less care and diligence than he ought and surely such one cannot justly complain for want of business.  I doubt rather, that whoever takes a just view of things will have reason to complain that life is short and our work great.   That let us use all the diligence we can and be as frugal of our time as we will we arrive much sooner at the maturity of years than of knowledge and virtue.

As to such as are engaged in a profession, I have particularly considered their state in several places, and find little to add here but only to mind them that they may be guilty of idleness too, that their idleness  is the more criminal, the less temptation they have to it. They may neglect the duties of their calling and if they be negligent in their temporal concern, it is not to be expected that they should be more industrious about their spiritual one.  They may again suffer the cares of this life to thrust out those of another and then they are truly idle and slothful servants to God, how industrious forever they are to the world:  For life is but wasted if it makes not provision for eternity and it matters little whether it be in pleasure or in drudgery.