Proverbs 6:9-11 - How long will you stay in bed, you slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.
I used to play football in high school. The one things we all hated was practicing in August. It was so hot and humid. We looked forward to when practice was over, but hated the last activity…40 yard sprints. We usually had to do ten sprints at the end of practice. If we gave it our best effort, sometimes the coaches would reward us by running fewer sprints. The “end of practice sprints” were part of our physical conditioning meant to improve our endurance during a game. They were also part of our mental conditioning meant to teach us to make a decision to do our best regardless of how we felt.
But if any of us were lazy or put forth a minimal effort, the entire team would have to run more sprints. (One time we had to run 20 sprints after practice) Most of the time I was too busy on myself to notice how my teammates were running. The “verdict” came at the end of the 10th sprint and the coach would tell us to either go to the locker room or line up for more sprints. When we heard him yell, “Line up again!”, we knew we were in for a long day.
Often when faced with an unpleasant task or something we don’t like to do, we avoid it, conveniently “forget” it, or find something else to do. In short, we procrastinate. The problem is that procrastination, like a cancer, can spread; we can start to avoid other things that fall under the categories of “necessary”, “important” and even “crucial”.
Procrastination in the “advanced” stage can easily develop into a lifestyle of laziness affecting many areas of our lives. Often the severity of the problem doesn’t become obvious until the consequences of procrastination suddenly hit us like a ton of bricks.
Are there areas of your life where procrastination has “taken over”? Have you become so accustomed to a certain level of laziness that you don’t even recognize that’s its a problem; it’s just “normal”? Has the disease of procrastination infected your pursuit in knowing God? This Proverb tells us that the eventual consequences of “advanced” stage procrastination (laziness) can be quick and severe. Given that we all have a circle of influence, it can affect not only our lives, but those we love the most.
The cures are: 1) a mindset of diligence, and 2) confidence that the Lord will be with us through unpleasant or difficult tasks. And He promises that your diligence will be rewarded (Proverbs 10:4), especially as you pursue Him (Proverb 8:17).
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