Skip to main content

Procrastination

 Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you. (Proverbs 3:28)

 

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. (lots of people, including Benjamin Franklin)

 

          I don’t know whether the people who have said the second proverb knew anything about the first. They may have learned from the school of life, but that’s rather the thing about Biblical proverbs. They are focused on life as it is, not life as we think it should be. I’m struggling with this one. It’s so much easier to dump a jacket, the dog lead, the flashlight, or whatever other stuff I bring through the door on the chairs just inside the door. The dog doesn’t care, so why should it matter? I’ll put them away later. Procrastination 101.

          One of the good decisions I’ve made is to try to procrastinate about procrastinating. I’m allowed to put off until tomorrow what I can do today, but I’ll put off putting it off. I’m allowed to not do good to or for myself, or to or for someone else, but I’m going to put off putting it off. It connects with a lesson I learned a long time ago: do the obvious.

          Today’s verse is one of my problems with Socialism – because that philosophy is all about the government hiring lots and lots of people to do the good stuff for and to someone. The person may not lack (possibly) but there is rarely a relationship built, rarely personal connection. I do nothing for you, but I do everything for you because what is done for you comes out of my taxes. It costs me everything and nothing. It might be more efficient, but I’m not sure it’s as effective for either the one who gives or the one who gets.

          This is why I’m on my weeding crusade. It’s something good I can do for the person who can’t be here to do it because of the virus, for the people around who me who would otherwise have to look at the ugly weeds, and for myself because I get the exercise, I get to be useful, and I get to enjoy how much better the park looks when I finish even the front of a place. It might be nice to get my blog post written in the morning, but it gives me a feeling of accomplishment. It’s some goodness I can do.

    What can you put off putting off today?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more