Procrastination. Putting things off. It’s a fault that most of us have had to wrestle with, one time or another. And you know what causes it? Do you know why people procrastinate?
I’ve decided that we procrastinate when we don’t want to do what we know we ought to do. And so we wait for something to happen that will make it unnecessary. You know, a miracle. The mortgage won’t come due, the boss will change his mind, the dishes will wash themselves. . . . There’s an old story about a criminal facing a death sentence who persuaded the king to delay his execution by promising to teach the king’s favorite horse to sing within a year. One day a friend dropped by the stables and asked the condemned man what he hoped to gain. After all, the sentence would be carried out the following year when the king discovered that the horse couldn’t sing. The prisoner said, “well, three things can happen. One, I could die. Two, the king could die. And three, the horse could learn to sing.”
Well, folks, the horse is probably not going to sing. You and I both know that difficult tasks don’t get any easier by putting them off.
And one of the most difficult things that any of us has to do is make decisions. Some days it’s all we can do to decide what to put on in the morning. My first pastor told a story I’ve never forgotten: it was a throwaway line, and it astonished him that I had even remembered it, much less been touched by it. He said, “If my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, what am I doing standing in the shower with my pajamas on?” At that time I was so tired that if I didn’t pick out what I was going to wear the night before I’d stand in front of the closet and cry because it was too big a decision to make. And I realized that being a Christian doesn’t automatically mean you always do everything right. In fact, sometimes you can blow even the simplest tasks. You can stumble over the simplest instructions.
But if you know what’s important, you can make the big decisions in advance, so that when the time comes you’re ready. When I was traveling regularly on business, I used to keep my overnight bag always packed, so that I could take off at a moment’s notice. My mother always had the picnic basket ready to go - all she had to do was add the food. My books are organized by subject and author and title so I can always find what I’m looking for. What’s important to you? What’s always in good shape? Is your house always clean? Is your gas tank always filled? Do you keep survival gear - water and blankets - in your trunk?
I don’t know if the wise virgins in Jesus’ story always had an extra flask of oil packed along with their lamps, or if it was just one more thing they had to remember when the big day came. I suspect it was simply their usual habit. After all, they had so many other things to remember. They had to get dressed in their finest outfits, maybe they had gifts to wrap or food to prepare; who could keep it all straight? It would surprise me if they had the time, on that very busy day, to stop and think: “What if he’s late? Wise people have already discovered that stuff happens, and arrange their lives accordingly.
We’ve all had to make some pretty big decisions. Maybe your biggest decision was who to marry. Maybe it was where to go to school, what career to pursue, whether or not to move to a new town. Even much smaller decisions can make a big difference in our lives, like what kind of car to buy, or where to go on vacation, or even what to make for dinner. But each one of those decisions is much easier if you’re prepared for them when the time comes. Many of my ACT students are filling out applications for college right about now. What kinds of things go into that process? You remember when you or your children were going through that process, don’t you? The kinds of classes you’ve taken, the grades you’ve gotten, extra-curricular activities, all of things play a role. And the better you’ve prepared, the more choices you have, and the more likely it is that you’ll get where you want to go. Getting the right job is very much like that. Were you prepared? Did you have the right qualifications, experience, attitude, and work habits? Did you take the time to write up a good resume? I’ll bet that when you men asked the women who became your wives to marry you, you’d been thinking about the right words for some time -and maybe even put on your best clothes for the big occasion.
It helps if you know these decisions are coming up. That way you can think them through and make the right decision in advance, rather than get hit with something unexpected and have to grab an answer off the nearest shelf without seeing whether or not it fits. But all too often, even if we know something is coming up, we don’t bother to prepare. Maybe it seems too far away, maybe you don’t really believe the event you’ve been warned about will actually happen, maybe the horse will learn to sing.
Throughout the Bible we see examples of people who weren’t prepared for things they’ve been warned about. The list begins with Adam and Eve, who weren’t prepared for the temptation the serpent dangled in front of their noses. Sure, God had warned them . . . sure, he had told them the consequences of making the wrong decision. But they weren’t ready. They hadn’t built any of the habits you need to make good decisions when crunch time comes.
What are some of those habits?
The first and most important one is to consult God on a regular basis. Add regularly to your store of knowledge about who God is, about who Jesus Christ is, about what it means to belong to God’s people. One of the big crises that Jesus warns about is the time when the disciples will be arrested and hauled before governors and kings. Jesus tells them not to “worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time.” [ Mt 10:19] Clearly the Holy Spirit will do for them what Jesus promised at the Last Supper, that “he will . . . remind you of all that I have said to you.” [Jn 14:26] But what good will that do if you don’t have Jesus’ words stored somewhere in your mind, ready to draw upon when the time comes? Peter said, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” [1 Pet 3:15] Don’t worry. But be ready.
The second important habit is to think about what you have read. Apply it to your life. Measure your words and actions against what God teaches about how we are to relate to one another, to our possessions, to our work and our time. It’s not called the word of life for nothing. It’s the manufacturer’s operating manual. If people were as careful with their spiritual maintenance as they are with their car maintenance, everybody’s soul would be in a whole lot better shape. Is it more important to get your oil changed and your tires rotated than it is to get your spirit lifted at Sunday worship? Is it more important to pay attention to that little rattle or shimmy than it is to notice how critical or anxious you’ve been getting? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist - or even an auto mechanic - to keep your spiritual life humming smoothly. “No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” [Dt 30:14] This word, these words, are not just for memorizing. They are for “training in righteousness,” [2 Tim 3:16] as Paul wrote to Timothy. And the book of Proverbs is a good place to start.
The most obvious one for this parable is, of course, the story of the ant and the grasshopper. “Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. . . It prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.” [Pr 6:6,8] But we must be ready in many more ways than that. Proverbs also tells us not to hang around with the wrong crowd. “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.” [Pr 13:20] Proverbs tells us to get our priorities straight, to listen to advice, to learn from our mistakes. Most of all, this book reminds us not to “rely on our own insight [but] in all our ways acknowledge [God], and he will make straight your paths.” [Pr 3:5-6]
The third habit to develop is to act on what you have read, what you have learned, on what you have discovered about yourself and life. Learn, think, act. Pretty simple, isn’t it? But it’s not that easy. To be ready for Jesus, to be ready for God, we have to be in the habit of turning Godward at every crossroads. Our bodies often act before we have time to think. Muscle memory often remains when our minds are damaged. If we have let the Holy Spirit build in us the habits of patience and generosity and kindness, that is how we will respond when there is no time left. And as someone once said, “character is who you are when no one is looking.” Mary didn’t expect the angel to appear and announce that she would be the mother of the Messiah. But she was ready, not only because she believed in the Messiah, and along with the rest of the Jewish people expected his arrival. She was also ready to say yes.
I was actually impressed by a Republican debate some years ago. Governor Huckabee’s came up with one of the world's great one-liners in response to the question, “What would Jesus do,” in regard to capital punishment. It sort of reminded me of the traps the Pharisees used to set for Jesus, you know? He’ll get in trouble no matter which way he responds. I probably would have gone with the “render unto Caesar” response, but the Governor answered, “Jesus was too smart to run for public office.” It was a little too flip for some who were offended by it, but I thought he was right on. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, was so steeped in knowledge of Jesus and his life that he was able to condense a profound and complex theological statement into a soundbite that played to the court in which he was being judged.
So what was the difference between the wise and foolish virgins? They were both there to meet the bridegroom. They all got tired and fell asleep. Both sets woke when the alarm rang. What was the difference? What’s the difference for us?
Well, I think the simplest explanation is that the lamp represents the word of God. Because it is only by the light of this lamp that we even know to expect a bridegroom - who is, of course, Jesus - much less to recognize him when he appears.
Now, some commentators think that the oil represents good works - that it is through the light of our good works that we glorify God. And Paul says to the Galatians, “let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.” But I think there’s just as much reason to think of the oil as the Holy Spirit, because it is the spirit who changes us, who motivates us, who keeps us faithful. The Spirit is the source of the kind of faithfulness that keeps us waiting and hoping and believing in the face of disappointment and delay is a gift from God, not a product of our own will. Folly says, “Oh, there’s plenty of time. I’ll do what I like and convert on my deathbed.” Wisdom says, “I’ll follow God from the start. That way I’ll be sure to be in the right place at the end.”
I don’t know where you are in your journey. But each stage requires a new decision. Make it now. Be ready for Jesus. Because he’ll be here - or you'll be there - sooner than you know.
