PROVERBS 6:6–11 – Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. 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: AN EASILY TOLERATED SIN. First, we need to make sure we understand it is sin. It is easy to “gloss over it” because likely in some fashion or to some degree, all of us suffer from it. When something is common, tolerated, and not dealt with for what it is, it simply becomes an acceptable “flaw” and chalked up as just being human. That is very dangerous especially when it isn’t a flaw but sin against God. Like this. Next, since it is sin, we need to confess it to the Lord with the sorrow that leads to repentance. We are referring to what does not characterize the insect illustrated in today’s scripture, the ant. If one were to look this sin up in a dictionary, here is what we would read – “the act of postponing or delaying something.” And the word associated with this sin, and yes, it is sin, is procrastination.
In researching procrastination from a worldly perspective, psychologists and other medical personnel, who will never call it “sin”, state “Various drivers of procrastination are fear of failure, low self-confidence, anxiety, a lack of structure, and an inability to motivate oneself to complete unpleasant tasks.” All those sound good and are more symptoms than causes because they don’t square with what God says in scripture, today’s scripture, particularly, what is behind the sin of procrastination.
Solomon uses the ant as a model in defeating the sin of procrastination. And in doing so, he uses one word which defines the root cause of our spiritual procrastination or procrastination in general. Now I know it isn’t pleasant to hear. Nor does it feel good if it applies. Also, not sure anyone would like to be greeted at our next time of fellowship with the words, “Hey, good to see you, sluggard!” The Hebrew word “sluggard” means “idle, lazy, lover of excessive sleep, makes excuses, and refuses to labor.” Ouch. Yikes! Yet, that is what God calls us if we are lazy Christians. And it is serious.
When it comes to this easily tolerated sin in the lives of Christians, it does the most damage for it lulls us into putting off what we know God commands of us to a not promised tomorrow. And here is the danger. Putting obedience off always produces a hardening of the heart. Remember this, known truth not obeyed takes us to bad places – spiritual indifference, spiritual barrenness with spiritual consequences and the chief one is the loss of first love for Jesus (Revelation 2:1-7).
Well, it is summer. Fun in the sun. Picnics. Hikes. As we enjoy the outdoors, the next time out, look for some ants, pause and be instructed. They may teach us a lot in helping us overcome the easily tolerated sin of procrastination.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I allow my flesh and want for comfort keep me from self-denying obedience.”
QUOTE: “Procrastination is sin. We will never overcome it until we see it as sin leading us to confession and repentance.”