Is your life challenging? God wants us to know peace that passes understanding.
Enjoy everyday reminders with me, when God calls us to “Come, have a peace!”
Why can't we ju
st put off until tomorrow what we could do today? Is procrastinating really that bad? I'd love to hear what you think.
Delay is a huge temptation to many of us. Just look at my planner ... you'll see things crossed off and "moved," arrows to other days, or sad faces next to things I tried to make go away. Let's face it; EVERYTHING can't be urgent. Some things are NOT priorities, despite what other people who don't have to live our lives, balance our accounts, clean up our messes, and answer our commitments tell us. Nope. EVERYTHING is not urgent. Some things CAN be put off...
- Like putting my pictures into an album. No one will suffer if I put it off, really.
- Or like cleaning my silver (both pieces). There's not a large affair pending that needs it.
- Or like dusting the blades on my bedroom fan. No one else will notice if they're dusty.
- Or like changing my facebook profile picture. I don't think anyone will cry over that.
Some things can be put off with little consequence in life.
But some things are put off with a cost, maybe a great cost ...
- Like putting flea medicine on the dog. You'll end up with carpet that looks like a poppy seed muffin.
- Or figuring out why the maintenance light is on in the car. You'll have lots of time on your hands while you sit on the side of the road.
- Or telling your family member you're sorry for what you said. You may not have another chance, or you'll have to climb over a big emotional "wall" by the time you get around to it.
- Or putting those restrictions on your tv for the safety of your kids or your own eyes. You may grieve the baggage of mental images you have to purge when you get around to it.
Sometimes delay is dangerous. Sometimes it's deadly, and sometimes it's just downright disastrous. The deception is that we will always have another chance, more time, but we are prideful to assume we have another day.
Are you putting off something really important? Something that keeps getting crossed out, put on other days, or shifted because of the pressing things of life ... like checking your facebook status or watching late night tv or trying on different outfits to wear or picking up kids or getting groceries or __________. You fill in the blank. Your list of procrastination prompters may look different than mine, but Satan knows the affairs of everyday life can distract us and disengage us from the things of life that ARE really important not to delay, because they carry too big a price tag. God forbid that we give in to the danger of delay in those things that matter most.
You have to know your priorities to decide, so I encourage you to take 2 minutes to write down the top ten priorities in your life (that's right ... right now). Are you married? Then compare the list tonight with your spouse. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if they are God's priorities, and then ask HIM for the strength and discipline to live out what matters most to God, letting the little stuff wait. Or even letting the little stuff just fade away.
2 Timothy 2:4
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
Everyday life "affairs" can tangle us up. If Satan can keep us occupied with unimportant things, he can make us vulnerable to his attacks. What could be the cost of waiting one more day to do what you've been putting off? Don't let me keep you .... something really important is waiting.
Is God speaking to you about something you need to stop delaying?
5 COMMENTS ~ Click here to leave a COMMENT:
I find that commiting myself to too much activity actually causes me to procrastinate. I have so many things on my plate that I often don't know where to start, so I delay starting, work for a while on one project, then move to another without completing the first. Some people work better with their plate overflowing with activity and commitments; some work better with less. I think finding out our tendency in this matter and sticking to what works best for us helps us (at least me) overcome procrastination. Good post.
I totaly agree! Some things can be put off, but there are some that just shouldn't be. Everyone has to really sit down and think about what is really important. We may not have time to do some things later.
Good post. Definitely makes you think. I've got a few things I've been putting off, but my hopes are to tackle them over the next four days. By Sunday evening I want my list to be completely marked off. When it is, I find it easier to focus on the important things in life & then 'maintain' my list so to speak. But when I get behind due to procrastination, it affects my spiritual and mental health & I feel like I do today! Blah! Thanks for the post AND the prompt.
~Sigh~ I'm totally putting off going into my daughter's old doc and PAYING (I don't know how that's legal) for them to fax my daughter's shot records to her NEW doctor. It has to be done or she can't register for school. But I sure wish I didn't ahve to PAY for it. (50 effing dollars!! They won't release them otherwise! that is outright crookery if you ask me!)
Great post! I stopped by from MBC, and now I am going to stop reading blogs and go finish reading my Bible. That is not something I should keep putting off today! =)
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