My Reflection on Procrastination

I have a bad habit of procrastinating. I will get an idea (like starting a blog) and then put off doing it. Procrastination can also be abundant in my spiritual life. Sometimes I will know of a way to encourage someone or reach out to someone, or I will know someone who needs God's truth and love shared, or I will think of a ministry to start or be involved with, or I will learn something from God and then it stops there. Instead of acting on it, or sharing it, or writing it down, or asking God about it, or whatever I should be doing, I just think to myself, “That’s a good idea.” There have been many times when I put things off until tomorrow, or “later,” because I am content just to have the good idea. 

Maybe I even tell God that I will do this idea, but then I get scared, or lazy, or unsure, or overwhelmed. All of those are hard obstacles, but they are not reasons to give up or put off doing something. 

I think of two people in the Bible that faced the temptation of procrastination: Noah and Moses. Noah had to build a huge ark to hold his family, animals, and food, and Moses had to lead an entire nation to a new land. Their tasks were probably overwhelming to them. So how did they respond to what God had asked of them? Genesis 6:22 says, "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." Noah went to work on his task. Moses, however, hesitated before he did what God wanted. He tried to talk his way out his task. I am sure he thought it was a good idea. He wanted the Israelites free, but he was reluctant to go and do it. I can act the same way sometimes. Instead of getting to work, I hesitate. 

God has been teaching me, repeatedly, that procrastination is more than a bad habit; it is disobedience. And disobedience can have unpleasant consequences.

The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.  - Luke 12:47

In Luke 12:35-48, specifically verse 47, Jesus says the servants who have been put in charge and given assignments should fulfill those duties or else be punished. Similarly, in Matthew 21:28-32 Jesus says God is not impressed by our words or promises but by our actions. Ecclesiastes 5:2,4-7 also emphasizes that God doesn’t want empty words; He wants faithfulness.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.  It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. – Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5

Both the verses in Matthew and in Luke are in the context of salvation (knowing how to enter the kingdom of God but waiting or refusing to believe), but I think the concept of obedience and of timing in these verses can be applied to any task God sets before me. If I am not going to do it, I should not say that I am, and if I am going to do it I should not put if off. There is no guarantee of tomorrow. This does not mean I should rush or not wait for God’s timing, but too often tasks are not finished or even started due to procrastination and not due to God’s leading.

Sometimes I wonder at the opportunities I have missed: if I had finished yesterday’s task, then there could be a new task for today, or maybe today’s task is only for today and if I do not finish today’s task now, I will not be able to finish it ever. I could go crazy with such thoughts; instead, in the words of Paul, I “forget what is behind and strain for what is ahead, pressing on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 3:13, 14).

I need to focus on what God has asked me to do today. When I finish what He has given me now, He might give me more to do. I must be faithful in what I already have. There are dire consequences if I am disobedient. He is a good master and will not ask me to do anything He has not already equipped me for doing. So what happens when I get scared or lazy or unsure, or overwhelmed? God is faithful, and He will help me when I ask. I need to trust Him. Sometimes there are tasks I cannot do on my own. That is when I go to my Christian brothers and sisters. God has created us to work together, to help each other and to accomplish great and wonderful tasks for God together. Noah and Moses each had a huge task, but neither had to do it alone. Moses had help from his siblings and many others, Noah could have had help from his family, and both Noah and Moses had the help of God Almighty, the same God that is here to help all His children complete the tasks He asks of them.

One final thought. When faced with procrastination consider this: What if Noah never built the ark!?

God Wants Your Heart

This morning I read Hebrews 8 which talks about the new covenant God was going to make with His people. In this covenant, God was going to put His laws in their minds and write His laws on their hearts.  He would be their God and they would be His people. Knowing God would become part of they were. God would no longer be distant to them.

                                                                                                 

God would be in the closest, most intimate part of them: their hearts and their minds.             

Hebrews 8:10-12  NIV

¹⁰ This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

¹¹ No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.                 

¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”                               

                                                                                   

This led me to Revelation 2. I do not remember exactly what my thought process was that led me there, but I ended up reading Revelation 2:1-5.

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have [divorced] your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.” Revelation 2:2-5   NASB (Emphasis added)

This is about the heart. That is what God was after. He noticed their deeds and He praised them. But there was something lacking in their deeds. In verse 5 God speaks of deeds they are not doing but they used to do. Is God asking for them to do more work? Is more work what pleases Him? No, what He wanted was deeds done from the heart. He wanted their deeds to come out of the love they had for Him. God desires intimacy with His people. This is why Jesus died, so sins could be forgiven and a relationship with God could be restored.

When God is speaking to the church in Ephesus, He says they have left, or divorced, their first love, which is God. They had this renewed relationship with God and something or someone had drawn their attention and their hearts away. They were no longer devoted to God as they had been and they had not kept Him in His rightful position of being first.

This holds true for all believers. Sometimes we can be enticed away from God and not love Him first anymore. Of course sometimes we don’t notice the problem because, like the church in Ephesus, we are still doing things for God and can see what is evil and know that it is wrong.  However, our devotion is lacking. We no longer seek to spend as much time as possible with God in prayer or in His word or in praising Him or in listening to Him. We do some good things and spend some time with God because we certainly don’t hate Him, but do we love Him? Like we did at first? Like we did when He was our everything? Are we doing good and godly things because we should, or because we love God?

Sometimes we can confuse doing things for God as love for God. It’s true that if we love God, then we will do what pleases Him, but the reverse is not always true. Doing what pleases God does not necessarily mean we love Him. We could do good things because we think it will earn us good favor with God (which it won’t. Romans 2:11), or because we want to show off and get attention, or because we think we can repay God (which we can't. Romans 11:35).

God wants the heart. He wants deeds done out of love for Him, not empty religion. He wants a devoted heart that keeps Him in His rightful place: first. Love for God should come before deeds. Love for God leads to obedience.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:37,38 NIV