Respectable Sins of Christmas #3 - Sloth

The Christmas season is wonderful in many ways. One thing even unbelievers often appreciate is that many people get time off during this season. After a full year of hard—and often stressful—work, it is good to rest, to be with family, and to enjoy good food. That, in itself, is a gift.

But there is a hidden danger here. The danger is not rest; the danger is spiritual laziness.

There is an interesting and troubling phenomenon among Christians: we often rest from God during the very season when Christ came to restore us to God. The entire point of Christmas—the incarnation of the Son of God—is to bring humanity back into fellowship with the Father. To celebrate Christmas by taking a break from God is to turn the celebration into the opposite of what it was meant to be.

For many Christians, “holiday mode” quietly becomes “godless mode.” The reading and meditation of Scripture are neglected. Prayer becomes sporadic or disappears altogether. The gathering of the church is treated as optional. It is true that many people—even non-Christians—“go to church” during Christmas. But many of these gatherings, as good and meaningful as they may be, are not the regular worship of the church. They are special events designed to celebrate Christmas through songs, plays, or presentations—and there is nothing wrong with that. But they are not the same as the worship gathering of the local church.

Interestingly, in North America, it has become common for the Sunday after Christmas to be the least attended of the year. Some churches even cancel their gathering altogether. What is revealed here is not simply a scheduling issue, but a deeper problem: the replacement of worship with passive consumption.

For many Christians, this distinction is difficult to see. But those who understand the nature of Christian worship understand that it cannot be replaced without spiritual consequence. When neglect accumulates—neglect of the Word, of prayer, of gathered worship—the result is not a stronger church after Christmas, but a weaker one. Much like people abandon healthy habits during the holidays and then scramble in January to recover physically, many do the same spiritually.

Historically, Advent and Christmas were not seasons of spiritual pause, but seasons of intentional devotion. They were liturgical practices meant to help the church slow down, reflect, and remember the love of God displayed in the humility of the incarnation. Christ entered the darkness of this world to redeem us, not to invite us into spiritual drift. Christmas is meant to be a time of deeper reverence, renewed dedication, and real progress in sanctification.

So it is not enough to say, “Let’s remember the true reason for the season,” while remaining slothful and spiritually disengaged. To remember the reason is to make the most of the season—to prepare our hearts, our souls, and our bodies in the Lord for the year ahead.

Nino Marques