Acedia is a spiritual malady that requires a physical cure. “Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.” (2 Thessalonians 3:13) Acedia is a word from the Christian tradition. It is derived from a word meaning “under the afternoon sun.” In other words, it is the spiritual equivalent of feeling sleepy after eating a big lunch. The condition comes and goes. It is cured by a spiritual and physical means.
Acedia Is Temporary
Time is an essential part of understanding this problem. Acedia is a condition of the mind, emotions, and spirit, that is defined by a time of day. That is key to understanding what acedia is not.
Acedia is not moral injury. I heard the term used last year by Dr. Carol Paris when she described the condition of young physicians that leave the profession due to issues of private health insurance, liability, and billing. I have seen many church leaders in the same condition. Moral injury could be permanent.
Painful Weariness
Acedia still hurts. Feeling tired, cranky, unappreciated, and sapped of all strength is not fun. And every person feels it from time to time. But, acedia was considered a “deadly sin” because of the temptation to quit. Many pastors have declared, “I quit,” on Sunday evening and returned to work on Monday. Believe it or not, it has happened to this writer. Acedia goes deeper.
People can get so tired that they hurt. The literal pain in the neck is caused by stress. So is the chronic headache, back ache, the hypertension, the stomach disorders, or the emotional volatility. The spiritual life is meant to strengthen us for our daily labors. Martin Luther claimed he was so busy he needed four hours of day for prayer. And yet, the spiritual activity is neglected by and large because of the need to do those labors. But that is not the only reason.
Spiritual Weariness
The most important spiritual discipline is rest. Christianity in the English speaking world is about doing. “Busy-ness is next to godliness” is our motto. If the church is not growing, we try solving the problem by doing more. If there are not enough hours in the day, we find ways to work more efficiently and productively. But we forget efficiency and productivity are not about making time to do more. They are about increasing leisure.
The idea of burnout comes into play here. Is it your fault you are burned out? Perhaps. We are responsible for a lot about ourselves. But it is difficult to ignore the pleas of those in needs of others. It does not matter if someone needs pastoral care, food, medicine, or help with shelter. It is not the fault of a church leader that these needs exist. They are manifestations of the evil the rest of the world has gotten used to.
Getting Away From Acedia
The standard work day is designed to exhaust people. We feel that the tiredness after lunchtime is some sort of moral failure. I recall struggling during those times of the day during school. It was conditioning to make us believe we were guilty of sloth when it was biological need.
Diversion, rest, exercise, and proper self-care time should be allotted for every person. But acedia causes us to despair of those times. Acedia in our culture is produced by feelings of guilt and then not having any means of doing what we need. It is not produced by these things alone. It is also produced by failing to fulfill unrealistic expectations. False ideas about spirituality, divine connections, and “balance” give some of us bad expectations about ourselves. The way of overcoming such false expectations is to take one’s life away from them. We are not quitting. We are reclaiming our right to life lived the best way possible. Among our spiritual practices we should remember to rest.
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