Lazy Procrastination

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,so is a sluggard to those who send him [or her].

Proverbs 10:26 (NIV)

W. C. Fields said, “The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.”

A sluggard is like a slug, lazy. The definition of lazy is “to dislike and avoid work or activity.” Procrastination is the sluggard’s method of operation. My Missouri grandmother used to say this is “living a day late and a dollar short.”

If there is someone who works with you or for you who operates like this, it can be annoying and frustrating, like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes.

So let’s apply this to ourselves and let it prompt us to not be the cause of this kind of irritation. There is joy in being faithful and diligent, even in the little things. Is there something that someone has asked you to do, and even though you said you would, you’ve put it off? Well, get to it. Really. Write it down and get to it. And do it with joy, because then everyone wins. It will be a pleasure to get it off the to-do list, and it will be a pleasure to the one who has been waiting for you to do it.

Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37, NKJV).

And in Colossians 3:23-24 we’re told, “Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward”(NKJV).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Diligence is steady effort and perseverance. It is the opposite of lazy procrastination. One of the keys to diligence is to find some habits that help you become self-managing and organized. Here’s one tip. I use small yellow writing pads to order my day. In my quiet time with the Lord in the morning, I often think of errands, calls, and must-do tasks. As things come to mind, I write them on a pad. Once I see them on paper, I can tackle them and then have the reward of checking them off. There is a sweet taste of victory—especially when I cross off something I have put off.

One Year Bible Reading

Numbers 4:1–5:31; Mark 12:18-37; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26