Thought for the Day - Friday 16 October

Thought for the Day – Friday 16th October ‘I passed by the field of one who was lazy, by the vineyard of a stupid person; and see, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.’ (Proverbs 24: 30-34) Edward Young once wrote in his poem Night Thoughts ‘procrastination is the thief of time’ and I don’t know about you but I truly believe this – although I have to say at times I just can’t help procrastinating myself! I think for some people the very thought of hard work makes them go weak at the knees and so as a result they keep putting off the dreaded task ad infinitum. For others when they are assigned a task they just get on with it and so the job gets done. In reality, I suppose we are all somewhere in the middle - most of the time we would just do as we were asked and get on with the task in hand, perhaps even occasionally going that extra mile and doing a bit more than we were asked. Yet even with tasks complete somehow there still always seems something which is left undone and that ‘something’ niggles away at us, it preys on our minds, disturbs our peace and at times even our sleep patterns. Usually that ‘something’ is something we know we have to do but just cannot muster any energy or enthusiasm for doing, so still we put it off, and invariably do even if it is for just one more day. However, deep down we know that ‘something’ will have to be done eventually! You have to ask yourself is all this procrastination really worth it – just look at the angst it gives us. It may buy us some time say for a lie-in or a duvet day, a free evening to go for a meal, a day of shopping and so on but at the end of the day that ‘something’ we have to do is still there haunting our thoughts and hovering over us like, as Winnie the Pooh would say, a little black rain cloud! Of course, the longer you leave that ‘something’, the worse it gets and eventually we might just reach the stage of never feeling like doing it – and just think of the angst that goes along with that – maybe even guilt. Worse still we could even end up in a downward spiral where we achieve ever less and procrastinate ever more! As they say, ‘Heaven forbid!’ I know when I feel I am procrastinating I always try to remind myself of how I love the feeling of getting everything ticked off on my ‘to do’ list, of how my spirits are lifted by a job completed, of how that sense of achievement gives me a good feeling inside and, of course, of how much better my sleep will be that night. Solomon here in Proverbs is giving us his wisdom on procrastination and giving us a stark warning against procrastination. It may seem quite an extreme warning but if we get into that downward spiral where we procrastinate more and more and achieve less and less, the danger of which he speaks in these verses may indeed become a reality! Prayer Loving God, We know we are all prone to put things off for another time, to be pre-occupied with the things we enjoy doing, or are comfortable doing, rather than those we know we should be doing or are obliged to do. Lord, thank you for never giving up on us, thank you for sticking with us and thank you for speaking to us in that still small voice your words of encouragement, encouragement to get on with the tasks in hand and so find peace in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Friday Fives: Okay, you have twenty seconds to answer each list! Name: 1. Five tasks you always feel like putting off. 2. Five times you have procrastinated. 3. Five ways putting things off affects you. 4. Five ways putting things off has affected others – as far as you know! 5. Five ways you are encouraged to just get on with a task.