Procrastination

Greetings Saints

I have to apologise to you for going quiet on you since the launch last year in 2019 to date. I have no justifiable excuse for the delay…..which is why we will start by discussing procrastination.

  Procrastination is defined as, “to defer action, delay, to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost” [1] I keep telling myself that I will do something the following day. One day leads to another. I can put off doing something for over a year or even longer.    Procrastination is a “disease” from which many people, myself included, suffer from and for which there is no external cure. It is not like you can go to the doctor, get a prescription and it is over and done with. The cure lies within ourselves. We have to resolve to kill, that is, totally remove procrastination from our lives.

 It seems to me that for one to resolve to change, one must have taken stock of what procrastination has and can cost them. Procrastination can be costly. Souls are lost to hell when we delay in sharing the word of God. Victories are lost when we delay in engaging in battle. Marriages are lost when people delay in effecting necessary changes to their lives and personalities. Simply put, procrastination is a major cause of waste and failure. Remember the business idea you had but never implemented.

In scripture we read Luke 9:59-62 NIV

He said to another man, “Follow me”. But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Please note from The Lord’s words in the red print that the emphasis is in taking action now, not using an excuse to delay the action.

So how does one get rid of procrastination?

Apostle Paul had this to say

In 2 Corinthians 8:10b-11 NIV we read

“…Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹ Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.”

• Examine and re-arrange priorities.When God is not first in the lives of people, we find the people giving excuses such as are given in Luke above.
• Know, understand and internalise the purpose and plans of God for your life – that will become the motivation for springing into action.
• Breakdown the plans into Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed (S.M.A.R.T) goals to follow.
• Make use of a diary and alarm system to get you going.
• Also get an accountability partner.

 To connect our scripture with the steps suggested, the Christians in Corinth desired to contribute and send money to the Christians in Jerusalem who were in a famine…..so it was priority action item. It is the purpose and plan of God for us to help each other as the Body of Christ. So their SMART goals could have been putting a certain amount of money aside each week for a year until it was time to send it out. In 2 Corinthians 9:5 the Corinth church was indeed advised to get ready in good time and accountability brothers were send to assist them.

 Challenge

Do the suggested above. Do not procrastinate. Just do it.

 Conclusion

We have discussed the undesirable effects of procrastination and how change is necessary. So, I am all set to go. Expect to see blogs regularly from now on. Enough said for today…”a word to the wise issss –enough”.

 Bye for now

 Lord Jesus’ bondservant

JAR Dennis

[1]Procrastination,  http://www.biblequestions.org/Archives/BQAR394.htm accessed 05.02.2011

1900hrs.

First posted on 16/08/2011 by  Christianfaithpublications Wordpress Blog