GOD BLESS YOU and WELCOME!

... To church just the way you like it!

This is the GetLifeRightNow!® Ministries pulpit!
Grab a warm beverage; pull up a comfy chair; bask in the presance of God, & be filled by His holy Word!

Warmth, Comfort, Love & Understanding...
...church - the way it ought to be!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

THE LATE SHOW

© 2008 by Deidre Campbell-Jones

Message Topic: Procrastination

Slothful: Proverbs 18:9
Diligent: Proverbs 12:24

Have you ever been low on gas – really low – and figured you could make it to a cheaper station, only to run out blocks before you got there? No, huh?

Have you ever had a bill to pay and put it aside until more money came in so you could pay it, only to forget about until after the late penalties had been assessed? Not you?

Have you ever had a fix-it ticket that was minor and fixable, that you put off getting signed off until you were conveniently in the area, only to find it had turned into a warrant by the time you got to the DMV? Never happened to you?

And did you ever delay responding to an email (or call), waiting until you had more time to write (or talk) at length, only to find out they had received their answer from someone else once you got back to them? No, not that either?

It can’t only be me! And if it’s not just me, then listen up – either we are, or we are related to someone who is a big waste of time, effort and money! Well… kind of. Throughout these and similar situations we have wasted money, wasted time and wasted opportunities to be a blessing to someone’s life because of our procrastination.

Proverbs 18:9 says, “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.” When we are lazy about the things we must do, we end up wasting a great deal such as: the extra time to walk the few blocks to the gas station and back; the extra money to buy a gas can or pay late fees or an extra word here and there to build a relationship and be an example of Christ in our lives.

It is a strain and a tedious effort upon our lives when we are always living on the back end of procrastination. The situations in need of rectifying are always worse than if we’d handled the matter right away. The extra effort is a burden. Or you could say we are “taxed” by the efforts. Proverbs 12:24 explains it this way: “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.”

Now the opposite is said to be true for those who get it done, don’t waste time and manage their duties efficiently. Proverbs 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”

The soul of this sluggard is covetous. We always think of covetousness as desiring something someone else has. But when you obsessively desire what you don’t have – a better life; a better job; a better spouse (or one at all); a better house; better behaved kids; better relationships, or whatever – you are wasting the time to acquire those things by desiring them. And that kind of desire or wanting is covetous.

Usually my procrastination is due to waiting for or wanting something better: I’m looking for a better price; a better time; or a better opportunity. But when I’m waiting on “better” I’m only waiting on “the late show.” And when you constantly live at “the late show” your blessings will consistently be a “no show.” But the life of the diligent is full, happy, content and blessed – overflowing and in need, or want of nothing.

You’ve got a life to live TODAY! Don’t put it off any longer. It’s time to stop wasting what you don’t have and start getting what you want. So stop reading this study and get to it!

No comments:

Post a Comment