From My Perspective - - -

I’ve been wanting to write about the subject of Procrastination in this Blog but just never got around to it. I’ve always thought there would be a better day, time or place for doing it. However, we’ll have to see how far I can get before deciding that I’ll finish these remarks another time. There was something I promised myself that I’d do yesterday and didn’t get done – actually – I never got started on it, so I better get that done before I continue writing about Procrastination. The proverb that states: “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today!” finds no entrance into the thought processes of a typical Procrastinator. Some have gone so far as to organize and become a Group of Procrastinators. A man – Robert C. Shannon – wrote: “There really is a Procrastinators' Club of America, with headquarters in Philadelphia. Their objective is to make known the benefits of putting things off until later. They publish Last Month's Newsletter, and have protested against the War of 1812; tried to get someone to fix the crack in the Liberty Bell; and traveled to Spain to try to raise money for three ships to discover America. The club holds irregular and, of course, late, meetings. If all of us who put things off were to join, it would be the biggest organization in the world. No doubt many of us intend to join, we just haven't gotten around to it yet!” Someone wrote a Poem that gives some sense to how the Procrastinator thinks:

I spent a fortune on a trampoline,
A stationary bike and a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse,
And gadgets to prove my progress results,
And others to show the miles I've charted -
But they left off the gadget to get me started!

That’s a sad picture and story about too many of us. Some pithy comments regarding Procrastination are: “Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday.” Another is: “The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.” And, “If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done.” Lastly, “Someday is not a day of the week.” With that in mind, there is this statement in Proverbs 27:1 (ESV), “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” In The Message Paraphrase: “Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the first thing about tomorrow.” That is just as clear and plain as it can get. One must take care of matters today. No one can predict whether or not there will be a tomorrow in one’s lifespan. Psalm 90:10-12 states: “The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away…Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” There is a positive commitment and discipline if one is to overcome the innate desire to put things off to another time and place, that is, to Procrastinate. Psalm 119:57-61 shares these words as an antidote to the tendency to Procrastinate: “You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words. I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands…I will not forget your law.” Do you see the seven steps given by the Psalmist? They are: 1) I have promised to obey; 2) I have sought Your face; 3) I have considered my ways; 4) I have turned my steps to Your Statutes; 5) I will hasten; 6) I will not delay; 7) I will not forget Your Law.

Jesus addressed the perils associated with Procrastination in Luke 9:57-62, “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, I will follow you wherever you go…He said to another man, Follow me. But the man replied, Lord, first let me go and bury my father. Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Still another said, I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family. Jesus replied, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Focus on other choices and priorities is also Procrastination. Consider these things that Jesus said and taught! Consider these things with me…!