Dictionary Word of the Day: acedia

It's been a long time since I've come across a Dictionary Word of the Day that was entirely new to me! (February 1st, to be precise)

acedia \ uh-SEE-dee-uh \  , noun;
1.  Sloth.
2.  Laziness or indifference in religious matters.

Quotes:

His tales give the impression of a man cursed with an incurable disenchantment with life, a malady about midway between acedia  and ennui.

-- James Norman Hall, Under a thatched roof
Five thousand people yawning in their cars, intimidated by the cops and bored to acedia  by the chant of the politicians.

-- Edward Abbey, The monkey wrench gang

Origin:
Acedia  is a simple derivation from the Greek akēdeia , "indifference.

Probably not a word I'll probably ever remember to use.  The thought of laziness or indifference in religious matters, though. . .

I'm glad there is a word that describes the particular indifference of religious matters because that particular indifference has eternal consequences.  That is not a subject about which anyone can afford to be lazy or indifferent and yet our neighborhoods are filled with people who were created in the image of God who go through their days without a thought about God, indifferent to His Word, indifferent to His Son, indifferent to His salvation.

It is not enough for us to avoid acedia in our own lives; we must also avoid acedia when it comes to those who are without Christ.

 Romans 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Let us not become indifferent to religious matters; our own or that of those around us. 

Comments

[rosemary]

It's a new word to me too, but certainly not a new concept, unfortunately.