There Is A Cost To Procrastination

There is a cost to procrastination
by Rick Warren


A lazy person has trouble all through life. Proverbs 15:19 (LB)
"Procrastination takes a problem and makes it a crisis. The longer you wait to start, the harder it becomes to begin."

When you procrastinate you're saying one of two things to yourself, "It's easier to avoid this than to face it" and that's wrong. The other one is "It will be easier to handle this tomorrow (or later)" and that's wrong too.

The Bible tells us that there is a cost to procrastination.

Procrastination causes problems -- The Good News translation of today's verse says, "If you're lazy you'll meet difficulty everywhere."

There was a time when I would frequently run out of gas. I'd watch the gas gauge going down, but I'd keep thinking, It's not convenient to fill up right now. I'll get to it later. And I always paid for it! It was always worse than if I had just stopped to take the time to fill up with gas.

How many home repairs have you been putting off? You know they're getting worse. One day you may go home to find something like the roof has fallen in! Because you let it get worse. Procrastination takes a problem and makes it a crisis. The longer you wait to start, the harder it becomes to begin.

Procrastination wastes opportunities -- "If you won't plow in the cold, you won' eat at harvest." (Proverbs 20:4 LB) When opportunity knocks, open the door! Take the advantage while you've got it. If you don't, you'll miss it.

Procrastination hurts people -- Laziness prevents us from being loving. Love requires commitment, energy, and work. A lot of people just don't want to work at being loving; it's easier to be lazy. Many marriages break up because the root cause is laziness. Both partners knew exactly what needed to be done to make the marriage work but one spouse -- perhaps both spouses - are unwilling to make the effort necessary to save the marriage.

Procrastination causes problems with our children too. Lazy parents produce problem kids. How many times do we know the kids need to be disciplined but, because we're tired, we don't do it? For instance, we ask our kids to do something or clean something up and they resist. Rather than making an issue of it, we say, "Forget it! I'll do it myself." It's easier to give in than to discipline.

Prayerfully consider the price you may be paying for procrastination?