Thursday, 03 July 2008
-
Procrastinating on Christ
Over a month ago, I suspected the rotors on my car were going. When I brake at high speeds, it feels as though I'm driving over hundreds of tiny speedbumps. But the car is a lease, so I figured this problem would fall under the warranty. It does, only it was under the lesser-known 24,000 mile warranty even though it is a 36,000 mile lease. When I finally brought it into the dealership, my odometer was reading 24,708 miles.
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. James 4:14, NLT
I'm a procrastinator, always ready to leave things to tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll fertilize those plants...or throw out the rotting vegetables in the fridge, call a friend, look into the balance on my checking account, and so on. Unfortunately, "tomorrow" seems to remain tomorrow for me, and I've found it always costs more than "today."
In some cases, that might mean money, but in others, the cost is of an incalculable price. I shouldn't put off calling my grandfather or my friends; for one reason or another, those people won't always be about. Likewise putting off vacations or experiential trips. Yet the worst thing I put off is spending time with God.
Jesus is always there waiting for us, and I think that knowledge makes me believe there is always time to develop that relationship. I can always read the Bible, write in my journal-to-God, catch up on those books...right?
What if I live to be 120 years-old, and in that time I did read some of the books and did get to a certain point of friendship with God...but because I also procrastinated I didn't get as far as I might have. Instead, I watched the same Friends rerun for the umpteenth time or took an extra nap.
Ever wonder if Jesus should play harder to get with us? That maybe if he was more exclusionary, he would be seen as more desirable? As it is, he's all love and wants to be with us so much that we know he'll be waiting for us when we have the time. But, we don't know how much time we have...or how much that neighbor Jesus wanted us to reach in his name has.
Do you have a hard time being disciplined in your walk? How do you stay motivated?
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 1
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (8)
Yeah, I'm one of those wait around kinda people too. I always suffer for it.
Well, my Sunday school teacher said that self-discipline doesn't always work alone. Sooner or later you'll fall back on your human tendencies. So the only way to keep yourself on track is accountability.
So, for my situation, I have a few close spiritual friends that I meet up with or talk to on MSN at least once each week to update on our lives and to see how our walk with God is going. If it works out well, these friends will give you their honest opinion when needed and it helps keeping things going with God. Obviously, there's a few struggles here and there. But in the end, what counts is that we're all still devoted to God.
Yes, I have a hard time with procrastination in everything as well.
I definitely put off God. I say, "Oh, He'll be waiting for me...He'll understand...I can do it 'tomorrow'" and then tomorow comes and I say, "Oh, tomorrow will be better...". You know how it goes.
I'm still working on that and occasionally I will get motivated to do it, but sometimes I simply just forget about even thinking about reading the Bible or praying. One thing a pastor mentioned in a sermon I was attending about a year ago was to leave your Bible open in a place you'll see it. If you spend a lot of time at your desk, leave it there, open. It will remind you to read it. It's helped me.
Another thing is accountabilty. Find someone you trust and share your life with them. Have them challenge you to know God more and you challenge them to know God more. Keep eachother accountable. I do not currently have someone like this, but I did a couple of years ago and it was definitely really good for me. I have a friend in mind to ask when I get back to my University though.
Don't keep putting off what can be done today! Especially God. Ask Him to help you. He will. God Bless!
Poor self-discipline is one of my worst traits. The biggest help in things like reading my scriptures daily is the fact that I married a man whose self-discipline is exemplary. He provides accountability, but it's never obnoxious or judgemental. He has a quiet, loving tone to it. Now, if only I could apply that to my editing job!
I learned this lesson in a hard way this month. I got a puppy in March, and one of the ways that we would be financially able to get this puppy is because I agreed to getting pet insurance for all our dogs. Although these are not excuses, things kept happening and I kept putting it off and just never got around to doing it, even though it was always at the back of my mind. Sure enough, our new puppy has had some serious gastrointestinal health issues that cost us about 1200 dollars in the end when it was all over with. Because I procrastinated and only got the pet insurance because of that, it turns out that while she is now covered for everything else, they will not cover any gastrointestinal issues she has since they are now pre-existing. That was the very reason we needed pet insurance too. go figure. The yearly cost for ALL of my dogs for pet insurance? 600$. Yup. It would have paid itself off twice over by now already if I hadn't procrastinated, and in addition her gastrointestinal issues would have been covered.
This seems pretty insignificant since we are talking about spiritual things here, but I think it provides a pretty good parallel. I am unfortunately the same way spiritually that I was about the pet insurance. I keep putting off until I need it, but by then it's too late to reap any benefit I would have gotten if I hadn't put it off. The important lesson is, it's never to late to start.
This statement of yours rings so true for me: "Unfortunately, "tomorrow" seems to remain tomorrow for me, and I've found it always costs more than "today." "
@conradma - I hear about the value of accountability partners all the time, but never considered actually getting one.... Perhaps I should.
@ashleyannaka@xanga - I came home yesterday and was so tired and burned out I just turned on the TV and zoned out. I hate when I do that; the TV seems to have some awful numbing effect on my mind, makes me not want to even think about God. I've actually wondered if that effect on me is demonic it's so strong.
@DearieMe@xanga - I need to add those qualities your husband has to my list-to-God. I think that would be a huge help, and how nice to have your husband be such a strong leader in a thing most wives seem to lead on.
@BohemianLamb - You understand perfectly, it seems. I have a scary feeling that my next dentist trip is going to be like your pup's situation.
@Miss_Goldenrod - Yes, God really did give me "above all I could ask or think" in the husband department. He's human, but he really helps me grow spiritually.
I try my best to work spending time with God into my daily schedule, but sometimes my days just get filled up. There's only so much time. So some nights I crawl into bed exhausted, pull out my Bible, and then wonder if God really wants my half-effort at spending time with him. Would he rather that I just waited until I could put all my effort into understanding his word and listening to him? Or is this just my excuse to procrastinate more? What do you think?