Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Less-Old View of Procrastination (Part 2)

In the gospels of Matthew and Mark, we can read about Jesus recruiting Simon and Andrew (and other disciples). He says “Follow Me,” and immediately they got up from whatever they were doing and followed Him. Zero procrastination.

I can't believe the things that Simon and Andrew didn't do when they walked away from their livelihood. It's amazing!
• They didn't turn in their two week notice.
• They didn't sit down with their lawyer and redo their wills.
• They didn't shut off the gas and water at the house,
• They didn't cancel their subscriptions to newspapers and magazines;
• They didn't rush home and do laundry.
• They didn't take out an ad in the Capernaum Daily News to sell their boats or their houses.
• They didn't go to the Post Office and fill out a card to have their mail forwarded.
• They didn't ask their friends up to join them for a farewell party.
• They didn't ask Him about a retirement, medical, or dental plan.
• They didn't even ask where they were going; how long they were going; why they were going; and a million other questions that you and I would have to know before we made such a move.

This contrasts a lot with the response Jesus gets at Luke 9:59. This guy can’t do it. He’s busy, you see – he’s got his aging father to take care of, probably a lot of family business, lots of details, and, and, and.

Some people are too busy to get things done. They procrastinate by being busy, not by being lazy. If that’s you, you’re fooling yourself thinking you’re being productive, if you aren’t doing what’s important.

You’re actually sabotaging your purpose – and yourself. There was a study a while back that found an interesting link between regular procrastination and an increased rate of colds, flu, insomnia, general bad mood, and unexplained gastrointestinal problems. Got a physical problem for no reason? Maybe it’s time to take action!

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