Pooh Pooh Procrastination - Mr. Duke Jeyraraj

‘Tomorrow I will do it!’ ‘Not now… but later.’ ‘I still have time to do this. So let me relax now!’ Whether it is washing vessels or washing one’s sins in the blood of Jesus, we like to postpone things. To procrastinate is perilous. To postpone things is problematic.

The Bible clearly teaches that we must not procrastinate. In fact, procrastination is sin. Hear it from the Bible if you cannot believe what you just read: ‘If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin’ (Deut 23:21). Let me highlight some areas in which we usually procrastinate: The Procrastination of Salvation: ‘Escape there (Zoar) quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.’ Those were the words of the angelic visitors of Sodom and Gomorrah to Lot (Gen 19:22).

In order to escape the God-sent rain of fire on this sin-soaked city, Lot had to ‘escape quickly.’ He could not delay this ‘escape.’ He had to do it ‘quickly.’ Similarly we need to escape the pleasures of this world and quickly run to Jesus for our salvation. Dragging of feet can prove costly. It proved costly for Lot’s wife. Hear Prophet Joel: the Lord says, ‘Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God…’ (Joel 2:12). Joel jolts us to ‘return’ to God ‘right now.’

The Procrastination of Meditation: Jesus waits outside the door of our heart knocking so that he can get in and ‘eat’ with us (Rev 3:20). He planned that His Word be the menu for the dinner He and us will have together. Is not his Word, ‘necessary food’ (ask Job!)? Is not His Word, ‘honey’ (ask Ezekiel)? But how many a time do we postpone our communion with Him? How many a time we push our time alone with His Word to some time later? If we do not give him time to talk to us with his Word, he reserves the right to take a walk from our lives!

The Procrastination of Reconciliation: Jesus preached, ‘Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison’ (Mt.5:25). When it comes to forgiving those who have wronged us – we must not delay things. That was Jesus’ larger point. He forgave the scoffing soldiers right under his cross’ shadow even as he hung there. He did not wait after his Resurrection to be able to do that!

The Bible commands us to forgive the trespasser, we all want to forgive – but we want to do it at our pace, taking our own sweet time. The very same Bible teaches us that we must do it now! The act of forgiving quickly lightens us. It makes us cheerful. It releases us. It makes us free. So why not do it, now! The Procrastination of Possession (of practical holiness): In the story of David and Goliath, we read: When the Philistine arose and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine (1Sam.17:48).

David raced towards Goliath! Do we postpone serious fights against our pet sins – the goliaths inside our soul? Are we content to live with those sins? Do we say, ‘My addiction to angry outbursts can be taken care of, a little later?’ Do we go like, ‘My obsession for porn will automatically wane when I get married after two years!’ Daniel and friends took their decision not to compromise within ten days of coming to Babylon (Dan.1). That decision, taken quite early, helped them stay pure and holy all through their seventy years of captivity there. The Procrastination of Intercession: Intercessions for others must be made without delay.

Paul writes, ‘first of all….intercede for all’ (1 Tim.2:1). Intercession is a priority. It cannot be postponed. It is first on the list of things to do. Take Jesus, for example here. It was when ‘everyone was looking for him’ he got out of his bed early, ‘when it was still dark’ and went out to a lonely place, looking for his Heavenly Father’s face (Mark 1:35-37). When we have choice of either pushing back the work we need to complete, or the prayer time, we invariably push back the prayer time. How foolish! Are we not telling God by that postponement of prayer, that we can finish our work without his enabling power?

The Procrastination of Donation: One of the reasons why we delay our donation of our talents for the benefit of others is that it costs us time to do it! ‘I sure can help this person. I don’t have time for it, right now,’ we tell ourselves. But we must make time. The example of Rebecca is before us. She was not only gorgeous in her looks but also generous when it came to giving: while Eliazer only wanted her to give him water, she watered even his camels, camels that gulp gallons of water! Our master told us that we must ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame’ (Lk.14:21).

When it comes to doing social service, followers of Christ must show some speed! The Procrastination of Evangelization: Oh, how many of us procrastinate when it comes to evangelism – telling others about Jesus! Take a look at Philip. As soon as he got the nudge from the angels, he ‘ran’ to the chariot that carried the Ethiopian Government Officer to lead a evangelistic Bible study from Isaiah for him (Acts 8:30). When the angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south…,’ he raced to do it (Acts 8:26)! Do we drag our feet when it comes to evangelism? Let’s pooh-pooh procrastination! Let’s do it now! Let us not procrastinate when it comes pooh-poohing procrastination!