PROVERBS 6:9-11 – How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 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 man.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE DANGERS IN THE SIN OF PROCRASTINATION. Today’s scripture is one of those “make you squirm” type. It just doesn’t feel good because it is something all of us struggle with at times. Perhaps some not as much as others, but it is real. It is part of our fallen sin nature.

What we are encountering is King Solomon’s warning about the sin of procrastination. Yes. Procrastination is sin. And a grievous one at that. Why? Two reasons. First, it is an indicator of an undisciplined and lazy life. It puts things off by giving into our fleshly desire for present comfort and ease. Let’s read again the powerful image Solomon paints of the procrastinator – “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 man.” Allow me a little personal paraphrase – “Turn over and hit the snooze button again and miss an opportunity for time alone with the Lord before the flurry of the day unfolds; choose to stay on the couch or in the recliner instead of attending a prayer meeting with your brothers and sisters; use the reason, ‘I am too tired’ when it comes to faithfulness to attend church and hear God’s Word preached; justify not serving in the local church out of weariness; and the results of any and all of them will be spiritual poverty and leanness of soul.” Procrastination is one of the fastest paths to backsliding.

A second reason why procrastination is a horrible sin against the Lord is that it presumes upon His grace by putting off what we know to do today to a not promised tomorrow. Be careful to guard against this easily tolerated sin. Left alone, it always leads to a loss of first love for Jesus and an indifferent spiritual life. The Apostle James exhorts us against “future living”, even future as in what we are going to do later in a day. He writes, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil’ (James 4:13-16).

So, how do we do battle against this sin? Notice how King Solomon exposes it to us. He asks questions. Two of them. Jesus often used questions. And this is the place to start. Get alone with the Lord and talk to both ourselves and Him. Reason together. Do heart examination. Identify the causes of procrastination. There are more than one. And then lay them open in prayer to the Lord for help to overcome this damaging sin. As He does in all areas of spiritual warfare, He will help us here, too.

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I let the fleshly desire for comfort and ease lead me to committing the sin of procrastination.”

QUOTE: “Live for the Lord as if today were your last day on earth. Someday it will be.”