A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics

by Richard Baxter

PART VI.

Directions against sinful Excess of Sleep.

Of this, something is said already, chap. v. part i. and more afterwards in the directions against idleness. Therefore I shall say but little now. 1. I shall show you when sleep is excessive. 2. Wherein the sinfulness of it consisteth. 3. What to do for the cure of it.

I. Sleep is given us for the necessary remission of the animal operations, and of the labour or motion of the exterior parts, by the quieting of the senses, or shutting them up: that the natural and vital operations may have the less disturbance. It is necessary, 1. To our rest. 2. To concoction. Therefore weariness and want of concoction are the chief indications, to tell us how much is needful for us. Sleep is sinfully excessive, 1. When it is voluntarily more than is needful to our health. 2. When it is unseasonable, at forbidden times.

It is not all weariness or sleepiness that maketh sleep lawful or needful; for some is contracted by laziness, and some by many diseases, and some by other constant causes which make men almost always weary. Nor is it all want of concoction that sleep is a remedy for; some may be caused by excess of eating, which must be cured a better way; and many diseases may cause it, which require other cure. Therefore none must indulge excess upon these pretences. Nor must a present sense of the pleasure of sleeping, or the displeasure of waking, be the judge; for sluggards may think they feel it do them good, and that early rising doth them hurt; but this good is but their present ease, and this hurt is but a little trouble to their head, and eyes, and lazy flesh, just at the time. But reason and experience must judge what measure is best for your health, and that you must not exceed. To some five hours is enough; to the ordinary sort of healthful persons six hours is enough; to many weak, valetudinary persons seven hours is needful: to sick persons I am not to give directions.

2. Sleep is excessive at that particular time when it is unseasonable. As, 1. When we are asleep when we should be doing some necessary business which calls for present despatch. 2. Or when we should be hearing the sermon, or praying, in public or private. In a word, when it puts by any greater duty which we should then perform. As, when the disciples slept when Christ was in his agony: "Could ye not watch with me one hour? watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation," Matt. xxvi. 40, 41.

It is a foppery and abuse of God and ourselves, to think that the breaking of our sleep is a thing that of itself pleaseth God; or that rising to pray at midnight is more acceptable to God than at another hour: usually such rising to pray is sinful, 1. Because it is done in an erroneous conceit that God accepts it better than in the day time. 2. Because they waste time in dressing and undressing. 3. Or else hurt their health by cold in the winter, and so lose more time than they redeem by shortening their lives. 4. And usually they are more drowsy and unfit. But to rise in the night to prayer is meet on some extraordinary occasion that calls for it; as to pray with or for a dying person, or such like; or when an extraordinary fervour and fitness prepareth us for it; and when we can stay up when we are up, and not lose time in going to bed again. But ordinarily that way is to be chosen that best redeemeth time; and that is, to consider just how much sleep our health requireth, and to take it if we can together without interruption, and to rise then and go about our duties. But those that cannot sleep in the night, must redeem that time as discretion shall direct them.

It is the voluntariness of the excess that the sinfulness principally consisteth in; and therefore the more voluntary the more sinful. In a lethargy or caros it is no sin: and when long watching, or some bodily weakness or distemper, make it almost unavoidable, the sin is the smaller: therefore in case of long watching and heaviness, Christ partly excused his disciples, saying, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," Matt. xxvi. 41. But when it cometh from a flesh-pleasing sloth, or from a disregard of any holy exercise that you are about, it is a grievous sin. And though it be involuntary just at the time, and you say, I would fain forbear sleeping now if I could; yet if it be voluntary remotely and in its causes, it is your sin. You would now forbear sleeping; but you would not forbear that pampering your body, and stuffing your guts, which causeth it; you would not deny the flesh its ease to avoid it.

II. The sinfulness of excess of sleep lieth in these particulars: 1. That it is a sinful wasting of every minute of that time which is consumed in it.[469] And this is a very grievous thing, to a heart that is sensible of the preciousness of time: when we think how short our lives are, and how great our work is, it should tell us how great a sin it is to cast away any of this little time in needless sleep. And yet what abundance of it with many is thus spent! Almost half their whole lives is spent in bed, by many drones, that think they may sleep because they are rich, and have not a necessity of labouring to supply their wants. I was never tempted (that I remember) so much to grudge at God's natural ordering of man, in any thing, as that we are fain to waste so much of our little time in sleep: nor was I ever tempted to grudge at my weakness so much on any account as this, that it deprived me of so much precious time, which else might have been used in some profitable work. The preciousness of time makes excessive sleeping to be a great sin, according to the measure of the excess.

2. It is a neglect of all our powers and parts which should all that time be exercised. Reason is idle and buried all that while: all your wisdom and knowledge are of no use to you.[470] All the learning of the greatest scholar in the world, is of no more service than if he were illiterate; nor all the prudence and policy of the wisest, than if they were mere idiots. All the strength and health of the strongest are of no more service than if they were sick; nor the skill of the greatest artist, than if he had never learnt his art; nor any of your limbs or senses, than if you were lame, or blind, or deaf, or senseless. And I leave it to any man's consideration and judgment, whether if drunkenness be so odious a sin, because it depriveth a man voluntarily of the use of his reason and parts, it must not be a very great sin to do the same by sleeping, by frequent, voluntary, excessive sleeping. For no man I think is drunk so often as the sluggard is dead in sleep: sluggards quite kill their reason, when most drunkards do but maim it, or make it sick. Sluggards bury their wits and parts usually ten times as long in the year, as the filthiest drunkards do. And hath God given you reason, and parts, and strength for no better use, than to bury it for so considerable a part of your lives?

3. Excess of sleep is guilty of all the omissions of those duties, which should all that time have been performed: of the omission of every holy thought, and word, and deed which should have been then exercised; and of the omission of all the duties of your callings: of the omission of every prayer you should have then prayed, and every chapter you should have read; and all the good which you should have got to yourselves, or done to others, to wife, husband, children, parents, servants, neighbours. And you know that omissions are one half, and the greater half, of the sins of the world; and that God will condemn the wicked at last for their omissions; for not feeding the poor, not clothing them, not visiting: and that he requireth the improvement of all his talents; and that it is his terrible sentence, Matt. xxv. 26, 30, "Thou wicked and slothful servant, &c. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." What then shall we think of the wilful omission, not of one duty, but of all duty whatsoever; not now and then, but constantly for an hour, or two, or three once in four and twenty hours! No love of God, no desires towards him, no good is exercised all that time.

Whether love of sleep may be a mortal sin?

Quest. Can the love of sleep alone be the mortal, reigning sin in any one? The reason of the doubt is, because that the mortal sin is a sin of mistaken interest, that is, such as hath a man's chiefest love, and is preferred before God; which it seems so small a thing as sleep or ease cannot be, but it seems a mere neglect or remissness in the way of duty, and not to be chosen as any man's felicity.

Answ. The sin that is set up against the love of God, as a man's ultimate end and happiness, is flesh-pleasing in the general, or carnal self-love: and he that is guilty of this can hardly be imagined to exercise his sensual desire only in the way of sloth and sleep. It is certain that he preferreth the greatest pleasure of his flesh which he can attain before the less: and therefore as to the habit or inclination, he is as much addicted to covetousness, gluttony, ambition, or other ways of sensuality; and if they are within his reach, that he can hope to attain them, he will actually desire such greater pleasures, more than this. For there is no man that is an unregenerate sensualist, that hath mortified covetousness, luxury, and pride, and yet is captivated only by sleep or sloth: the same grace which truly mortifieth the greater would mortify the less. But it is possible that a beggar, or some such person, that hath no other sensual pleasure but idleness in view or hope, may exercise his sensuality principally this way. Not but that radically he preferreth riches and honour before his beggarly sloth and ease; but those desires having no matter to work upon, do not stir in him, because he hath no hope of reaching such a thing. The sum is, 1. Carnal self-love is the great opposite to the love of God. 2. This self-love worketh towards carnal pleasure, and to the greatest most. 3. Habitually therefore the love of riches, honour, and voluptuousness, is stronger than the love of ease. 4. Actually the love of ease may be the strongest in some. 5. But if those persons were as capable of the higher fleshly pleasures, they would love them actually more. 6. It is not the omitting of some particular duties through the love of ease, which proveth such a sensual, unsanctified state of soul; but the preferring of men's ease before a holy life in the main; as when men so far love their ease, that they will not make it the chief of their desires and employments, to "seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness," Matt. vi. 33.

The overcoming of excessive sleep is easy, if you be but thoroughly willing.

Direct. I. The first thing to be done, is to correct that sluggish, phlegmatic temper of body which inclineth you to it, which is chiefly to be done by such an abstinence or temperate diet, as I gave directions for before. A full belly is fit for nothing else but sleep or lust. Reduce your diet to that measure which is needful to your health, and eat not any more to please your appetites. And let fasting cure you when you have exceeded.

Direct. II. Labour hard in your callings, that your sleep may be sweet while you are in it; or else you will lie in bed on pretence of necessity, because you cannot sleep well when you are there. Then you will say, you must take it out in the morning, because you sleep not in the night. But see that this be not caused by idleness. Weary your bodies in your daily labours; "for the sleep of the labouring man is sweet," Eccl. v. 12.

Direct. III. See that thou have a calling which will find thee employment for all thy time, which God's immediate service spareth. Yea, which somewhat urgeth thee to diligence. Otherwise thou wilt lie in bed, and say, thou hast time to spare, or nothing to do. You can rise when you have a journey to be gone, or a business of pressing necessity to be done: keep yourselves under some constant necessity, or urgency of business at the least.

Direct. IV. Take pleasure in your callings, and in the service of God. Sluggards themselves can rise to that which they take much pleasure in; as to go to a merriment, or feast, or play, or game, or to a good bargain, or any thing which they delight in. If thou hadst a delight in thy calling, and in reading the Scripture, and praying, and doing good, thou couldst not lie contentedly in bed, but wouldst long to be up and doing, as children to their play. The wicked can rise early to do wickedness, because their hearts are set upon it: they can be drunk, or steal, or whore, or plot their ambitious and covetous designs, when they should sleep.[471] And if thy heart were set as much on good, as theirs is on evil, wouldst not thou be as wakeful and as readily up?

Direct. V. Remember the grand importance of the business of your souls which always lieth on your hands, that the greatness of your work may rouse you up. What! lie slugging in bed, when you are so far behindhand in knowledge, and grace, and assurance of salvation; and have so much of the Scripture and other books to read and understand? Hast thou not grace to beg for a needy soul? Is not prayer better work than excess of sleeping? Great business in the world can make you rise, and why not greater?

Direct. VI. Remember that thou must answer in judgment for thy time: and what comfort wilt thou have, to say I slugged away so many hours in a morning? And what comfort at death when time is gone, to review so much cast away in sleep?

Direct. VII. Remember that God beholdeth thee, and is calling thee up to work. If thou understoodest his word and providence, thou wouldst hear him, as it were, saying as the mariners to Jonah, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God." Wilt thou lie sleeping inordinately when God stands over thee, and calls thee up? If the king, or any great person, or friend, did but knock at thy door, thou wouldst rise presently to wait upon them. Why, God would speak with thee by his word, or hear thee speak to him by prayer; and wilt thou lie still and despise his call?

Direct. VIII. Remember how many are attending thee while thou sleepest. If it be summer, the sun is up before thee, that hath gone so many thousand miles while thou wast asleep: it hath given a day's light to the other half of the world since thou laidst down, and is come again to light thee to thy work, and wilt thou let it shine in vain? All the creatures are ready in their places to assist thee, and art thou asleep?

Direct. IX. Consider whether thou wilt allow thy servants to do the like: they must be up and at work, or you will be offended, and tell them that they are no servants for you, and that you hire them not to sleep. And do you not owe God more service than they owe you? Doth God hire you to sleep? Is it any lawfuller for you than them, to sleep one minute more than is needful for your health? No, not a minute: if you are sicklier than they, that is another matter; (but see that fulness and idleness cause it not;) but otherwise your riches are no excuse to you. Will you loiter more than they, because you receive more? and do less service, because you have more pay? Or is it your privilege to be so miserable, as to lose that time which poor men save?

Direct. X. Remember that your morning hours are the chiefest part of all the day, for any holy exercise, or special employment of the mind. The mind is fresh and clear, and there is less interruption by worldly business; whereas when others are up and about their business, you will have interpellations. Those that have tried it can say by experience, that the morning hours are the flower of their time, for prayer or studies; and that early rising is a great part of the art of redeeming time.

Direct. XI. Remember how many are condemning you by their diligence, while you are slugging away your time. How many holy persons are then at prayer in secret, wrestling fervently with God for their salvation; or reading and meditating in his word! What do they get while you are sleeping! The blessed man doth delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate in it day and night; and you love your ease, and are sleeping day and night: will not all these be witnesses against you? So will the diligent in their callings; and so will the worldlings and wicked that rise early to their sin. How many thousand are hard at work while you are sleeping! Have you not work to do, as well as they?

Direct. XII. Remember that sensuality or flesh-pleasing is the great condemning sin that turns the heart from God: and if it be odious in a drunkard or fornicator, why is it not so in you? Mortify the flesh, and learn to deny it in its inordinate desires, and your sin is almost cured.

Direct. XIII. For then the executive part is easy when you are willing: it is but agreeing with some one to awaken you, and a little cold water will wash away your drowsiness if you consent.