“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” Ecc. 11:4 (NLT)
That verse smacked me right between the eyes when I read it.
I am a world-class procrastinator, and many times my excuse is that the conditions are not “perfect” for taking on the project that needs to be done.
Let me show you a gross example, if you think you can handle it!
One of the “blessings” of spring
Ewww! But, every time I walked by this window, I somehow found an excuse for why NOW was not the right time to clean this up.
Then I read this verse:
“I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one lacking sense. I saw that it was overgrown with thorns. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest–and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.” Proverbs 24:30-34 (NLT)
Is my family going to be pounced upon by poverty because I didn’t scrub the mold off the windowsill? Obviously not, but the principle is that NOW is the time to accomplish what needs to be done. No more excuses. No more procrastination.
The principle also applies to situations in life other than farming and spring cleaning.
- That friendship I’ve been neglecting because it’s not the easiest? The time is NOW.
- That letter I’ve been meaning to write? The time is NOW.
- That spiritual discipline I need to make a part of my life? The time is NOW.
- That tough-love I need to use with my teen? The time is NOW.
- That playing I need to do with my husband or children? The time is NOW.
There are definitely certain decisions or tasks that require a specific timing, and NOW may not be it. But, for a whole host of other things, putting them off and making excuses for not doing them is nothing more than pure laziness. That is a shoe that I do not like to try on my own foot. Too often, however, that shoe fits.
So is there a remedy for laziness?
I posed this question to my chaplain-counselor-husband. We had an interesting discussion, and this is the essence of our conclusions:
It comes down to discipline and determination. We have to get to a point of not doing things only when we “feel” like doing them, but because they must be done. It’s a change of mindset. It also takes a realization that ultimately, we work and live for the glory of One, and we need to ask ourselves if we are pleasing Him with how we spend our time.
I seem to recall a shoe company’s ad campaign that is apropos. Remember Nike’s “Just Do It”? Whether it’s spring cleaning, prayerfully evaluating homeschool curriculum, having an important discussion with your spouse, stepping away from the computer, or beginning that exercise plan–
Just Do It–The Time is NOW!
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