5, Simple,Slothful,Presumption

- Formality & Hypocrisy

The Names of the Three Women

As Christian continued along his pilgrimage, he found three women sitting beneath a hill.
Their names were Simple, Slothful, and Presumption.
Iron shackles bound their wrists, yet none of them regarded those chains as the bonds of sin.

Fig. 5–1: The three women—Simple, Slothful and Presumption

·Simple remained content in complacency:
“Life is perfectly fine the way it is.”
Ignorance and dullness of heart are never a blessing; indifference to truth eventually becomes careless neglect.

·Slothful embodied a lazy soul:
“I’d rather rest a bit and chat.”
The problem is not physical idleness, but spiritual laziness—the delay of prayer, the neglect of Scripture.

·Presumption responded arrogantly:
“Mind your own business.”
The warnings of Scripture do not reach her ear; counsel is taken as a personal offense.

Christian pleaded with them in tears to repent, but they refused.
Thus he continued on his journey alone.

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Those Who Came Over the Wall

Soon afterward, Christian encountered two more men who had climbed over a wall.
Their names were Formalist and Hypocrisy.

Fig. 5–2: Formalist and Hypocrisy climbing the wall

They had not entered through the gate but had made their way over the wall—
the very path Jesus described as belonging to a thief and a robber (John 10:1).

·Formalist seeks only the outward appearance of religion—attendance, rituals, and customs—while lacking the life of the Spirit within.

·Hypocrisy speaks pious words with his lips, yet his life is no different from the world.

They chose a shortcut instead of the wicket gate,
but the path they took ultimately led to destruction.

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Christian Takes Out His Scroll

Moved to sorrow by what he had seen, Christian reached into his pocket and took out the scroll he had received at the foot of the cross—a token of the grace given to him.

As he read its words, strength returned to his heart,
and his feet once again turned firmly toward the path of truth.

Meditation Questions

· Am I becoming dull-hearted like Simple?

· Do I know what is right yet fail to act like Slothful?

· Do I reject correction out of arrogance like Presumption?

· Do I cling to outward religion like Formalist?

· Do my life and my faith drift apart like Hypocrisy?

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Wisdom from the Ant

Scripture says:

“Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise.”
— Proverbs 6:6

Fig. 5–3: The Ant

We often see the ant as a symbol of diligence.
But from the perspective of animal behavior, an ant’s activity is not driven by moral conviction but by survival instinct.

Even so, Scripture uses the ant to rebuke human laziness.
In its order and cooperation we glimpse the providence of God.

Harvard professor E. O. Wilson, who pioneered sociobiology, spent his life studying ants.
As I translated his writings, I was reminded again that even the smallest creatures bear the imprint of God’s order.

In an ant colony, there are cleaners, undertakers, harvesters—each with a role marked by scent.
Their ancient and sophisticated society reveals the Creator’s design that stretches far beyond human history.

In their silence,
I hear the whisper of God.

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A Society of Ants That Regard Humans as Gods

The French novelist Bernard Werber, in his book The Ants, imagines a world in which ants revere humans as gods.
In the story, something like a “gospel” spreads throughout the ant society, and a religious symbol known as “the Finger” emerges.
The new queen ant finds this faith inconvenient and begins slaughtering the believer ants.
Yet those who worship the Finger remain steadfast, risking their lives to help a prophet-ant escape.
He enters the body of an earthworm, is later carried upward by a soaring titmouse, and finally enters what they believe to be “the Kingdom of God.”

Though the narrative satirizes faith by twisting it, it also prompts reflection on the limits of our own existence.

I once watched an ant crawl across a rock atop Mount Inwang.
When I scratched the rock with my fingernail, the ant immediately fled.
To that tiny creature, the vibration was like thunder and lightning.

In that moment I realized: to the ant, I appeared as a godlike being.

Fig. 5–4: Ants perceiving humans as gods

The One Who Calls a Flower by Name

Professor E. O. Wilson and I looked upon the same creatures, yet our conclusions differed.
He was non-religious; I am a person of faith.

I am reminded of a brief story by writer Lee Cheol-hwan:

“If you want to know a flower’s name,
one day the flower itself will tell you.”

In reality, it was a passerby who said, “How lovely that lily-of-the-valley is,”
but even that was God’s way of revealing its name.

I had spent years sitting before that flower, longing to know what it was called—
Wilson had not.
And in the end, it was the Apostle Paul who taught me its true name.

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A Confession That Cannot Be Changed

The Apostle Paul declared:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.”
— Galatians 2:20

The world honors a scientist who wins the Nobel Prize,
but I know the name of the One who bore the cross for me.
To proclaim that name is the very reason for my pilgrimage.

✍ Final Meditation

Am I following the path of Simple, Slothful, and Presumption

, or am I entering through the wicket gate?

Do I choose the shortcuts of Formalist and Hypocrisy

, or do I walk the path of truth?

Do I perceive God’s providence even within the small, ordered world of the ant?