Pay Now, Play Later

Pay Now, Play Later

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Anyone who has ever eaten the crusts of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich first, to enjoy the rest of the sandwich without the cumbersome crusts, knows the meaning of delayed gratification. It occurs anytime a person intentionally endures something less pleasant, no matter how big or how small, to benefit from something much more beneficial at a later time. In other words, delayed gratification happens when we pay now to play later.

When I (Les) was a child, I remember Mom and Dad giving me the opportunity to do my chores during the week so I could have my weekends to play. If I didn’t do my chores during the weekdays, I would be stuck sweeping out the garage or cleaning out my hamster cage during a valuable Saturday, when I could have been at the beach with my buddies. It only took a couple of weeks for me to catch on, and the principle has stuck. Even in high school, my friends soon learned that I got my assignments done well before they were due. Why? Because early on I learned the value of delayed gratification.

Of course, this is a good quality that can be taken to a bad extreme. When Leslie and I were both students in graduate school, we had a sign over our computer we each used to write our dissertations. The sign said, “Some people spend their entire lives indefinitely preparing to live.” It was a quote by Abraham Maslow, and it referred to the balance that is required when trying to delay one’s gratification. It hung there for nearly five years and reminded us not to delay too much. There is a time to delay and a time to enjoy.

In what area would the two of you benefit from a little more delayed gratification? And where might you need to lighten up, ease off the preparation, and live a little bit more?

As we get past our superficial material wants and instant gratification we connect to a deeper part of ourselves, as well as to others.

—Judith Wright