May 22

May 22 - Today from Proverbs 22 we look at verse 13
"The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"

What in the world is a sluggard? Well, in the original Hebrew the root of this word means to lean idly. It is a picture of no movement. In context, the lack of movement is a result of a reluctance to get a task done. Disinclination to work. Little or no work ethic. It's the kind of person you wouldn't want to hire or to entrust with a task. "Let 'em lean -- we've got a task to accomplish." Well, I do not consider myself a sluggard, so once again I am inclined to look for the principle here. The first thing I notice is that the sluggard is neither honest with himself, nor with those who have called him to task. He has justified his idleness with plausible, but far-fetched excuses. There very well could be a lion outside -- but it is more than likely that the lion is no threat to the sluggard. Anyone could be murdered in the streets, but it is no more likely that the sluggard will be murdered than anyone else. The odds are overwhelming that neither excuse would be a real threat to the sluggard. But even if the chances were one in ten thousand -- there is a chance.
Even if I do not consider myself to be a sluggard, I have to ask myself, "Are there times when I am sluggardly?" Thus we come to the personal application of a principle. Procrastination is a much nicer and kinder word than sluggardly, don't you think? "Do I ever procrastinate?" Sure, everybody does. That doesn't make me a sluggard. "Are people depending on me to get a task done?" Well, yes, but I have other priorities right now. "Wasn't I 'leaning idly' in front of the TV last night?" Yeah, but that's my time. I've got a life too you know. "Why don't I just pick up the phone, make the call, and get the ball rolling?" Nobody's ever home anyway. I could spend a half hour trying to track them down. Then we would have to spend another half hour trying to coordinate our schedules, trying to find a time to get together. . .
Oh-h-h-h, I've just fabricated a lion in the streets.
Why do we procrastinate? Because the task in question interferes with our personal desires and priorities. . . Because the task in question calls for us to make contact with someone we do not care much to deal with. . . Because the task in question is outside of our comfort zone. . . At least those are honest answers. Once we are honest with ourselves, we really have no excuse. Someone is depending on us to get the task done. It may be an uncomfortable task, but no one is going to murder me in the street while I am accomplishing it. And if that one in ten thousand chance hits and I do get murdered in the street -- at least I went out with my integrity in tact.
Procrastinators hold up the task and hold up the progress of others who are depending on them. Wisdom seeks to fulfill obligations as soon as it is reasonably possible, and as excellent as possible.