"If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." -John 7: 17
"Procrastination," says Webster's Dictionary, is "the putting off or delaying of doing something until a later time." And it's always bad, right? Wrong! There are times when not dealing with a situation is a good choice. But is that really procrastination, or is it simply the decision not to make a decision at that point?
Queen Victoria, it is said, always avoided making a decision as long as possible, thinking that the longer she could wait in dealing with a situation, the less likely it would be that she would have to make a decision. Napoleon Bonaparte answered his mail only once a month because he found that in the intervening period of time, the problem had often resolved itself. Obviously, he lived before the days of e-mail, faxes, and communication by satellite.
Aaron Burr, the American patriot, once advised, "Never do today what you can as well do tomorrow because something may occur to make you regret your premature action." But, of course, Burr didn't follow his own advice; otherwise, in a fit of anger he would not have fought the duel with Alexander Hamilton, which forever checkered his reputation and career.
There are times when waiting, doing nothing at all, is not procrastination but the decision to await God's timing and will. While procrastination may be the thief of time, as the English poet Edward Young suggested 400 years ago, it is also true that haste is the parent of 9/10 of our mistakes. More people get into trouble making wrong decisions because they didn't have all the facts or saying things without knowing all the circumstances, than those who say or do the wrong thing because they take too long addressing an issue or problem.
Take, for example, rushing into a business transaction where the smooth talking salesman gives you the pitch that you have to buy that evening to take advantage of the good price he offers you. Or what of the person who rushes into a marriage without really knowing the person who is pressuring you to go to the altar. Marry in haste and repent in leisure.
Over the years I have learned, sometimes through painful experience, that if I am uncertain about a given situation, the best course of action is to wait, lay the matter before the Lord in prayer, and seek advice or counsel from someone older or wiser, and make a decision only when I have come to a conclusion as to what is the right thing to do. Waiting in such a situation is not procrastination, which can be applied only from the point at which you know what you should do. Awaiting the knowledge of what you should do is wisdom; avoiding doing what you know should be done is procrastination.
Recently, I've gotten acquainted with a young man who has become interested in knowing who Jesus Christ really is. Much of the information about Christianity with which he grew up is inaccurate; he wanted to know for himself. For a period of time, he read, talked and thought. Making a decision, for him, at that point, was premature. Eventually, he became convinced that Jesus was and is the Son of God, and then he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Jesus Himself said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7:17). That period of searching, exploring, and fact finding is not procrastination. It becomes procrastination after a person has come to an understanding of the truth. Where are you, friend? Searching or procrastinating? It is one or the other, but never both. Think about it.
***
Permission to reprint the above article is hereby granted by Guidelines, Inc.
***
0 Comments