Did you know that there is a Procrastinator’s Club? Members have been planning to meet for three years, but they keep putting it off. They are going to elect officers as soon as they get around to it. They have established dues to be paid by members, but everyone keeps putting off sending them in.
Some time ago, a magazine survey listed five questions that a person could use to discover if he or she is a procrastinator:
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Do you regularly turn in work late or at the last moment but seldom early?
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Do you put off a diet until later, a time that keeps changing into the future? By the way, someone said a diet is “what you keep putting off while you keep putting on.” Someone also said a “procrastinator is a person with a wait problem.”
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Do you use fatigue or a headache as an excuse not to complete a task?
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Do you clutter up your life with little things to avoid the big things?
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Do you avoid seeing a doctor hoping the symptoms will go away?
At the beginning of a year, many of us take stock of our lives. We decide to make some changes in our lives. We make New Year’s resolutions. One of the greatest enemies to change is procrastination. Rick Warren said, “Procrastination is a universal problem. Most of us know what we need to do, we just put it off. The problem with procrastination is that it becomes a way of life, a lifestyle. The more you do it the better you become at it. Some people are professional procrastinators.”
We might laugh at being a procrastinator, but it is a serious matter. In fact, procrastination is one of the devil’s greatest tools and tactics to keep us from being and doing all that God has planned for us. The word “procrastinate” literally means “of tomorrow” or “tomorrow forward,” from the Latin words “pro” and “cras” or “crastinus,” which means “tomorrow.” Procrastination is Satan’s strategy to get us not to do something TODAY. God says “do it TODAY”; Satan tempts, “do it TOMORROW.”
Let me give you four reasons why we should not procrastinate in dealing with procrastination:
1. When we procrastinate, we miss out on the removal of sin and its consequences.
We can become hardened to sin when we put off dealing with sin. It is a dangerous thing to procrastinate when under God’s conviction. Sin that is not dealt with always causes problems down the road. Also, when it comes to neglecting our sin, there might come a time when the damage can no longer be repaired. Procrastination always costs…especially when it has to do with postponing repenting of some sin in our lives.
2. When we procrastinate, we miss out on seeing God move.
When we put off things like prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and worship, we miss out on seeing God move in our lives. I think of Queen Esther who allowed God to work in her life by speaking to the king who would save the Jewish people. Esther’s uncle said to her, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Because she did what God told her to do, and did not procrastinate, she saw God move. Imagine what God wants to do in our lives that we simply miss because we procrastinate.
3. When we procrastinate, we miss out on service opportunities.
If you think of doing something, do it…we only get so many opportunities. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
4. When we procrastinate, we can miss out on salvation.
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). Sadly, many people procrastinate their way to hell. As has often been said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” We intend to respond to God, but we never do.
Let me encourage us as we begin 2019 to not procrastinate. Write down some things you need to do or that God has spoken to you about, and do them…today.