Ready Or Not

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.