https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2003\/09\/IsItTime.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Haggai 1:2-11<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nWhile cleaning out his desk, a man found a shoe-repair ticket that was ten years old. Figuring that\nhe had nothing to lose, he went to the shop and gave the ticket to the repairman, who began to\nsearch the back room for the unclaimed shoes. After several minutes, he reappeared and gave the\nticket back to the man. “What’s wrong?” asked the man. “Couldn’t you find my shoes?” “Oh, I\nfound them,” replied the repairman, “they’ll be ready next Friday.” – Michael Green\n
<\/p>\nI. Procrastination is not the result of a lack of time to complete a task. It is an attitude and\nmust be dealt as such.\n
A. Most of us procrastinate from time to time.<\/p>\n 1. Procrastination is not only undesirable, but it can have eternal\nconsequences.\n
2. As with most topics, the Bible can instruct us in this topic.<\/p>\n
B. Haggai 1:4<\/p>\n 1. The Jews had allowed the temple to lie waste, delaying the work to rebuild\nit, while they spent the time on their own homes.\n
2. Once the Jewish people had a different attitude – II Samuel 7:2<\/p>\n
3. These people had put off rebuilding the temple for over 15 years.<\/p>\n 4. God sent Haggai to stir up the people and break them from the grip of\nprocrastination.\n C. Unfortunately, the problem remains. Who doesn’t have a problem with\nprocrastination?\n
II. Procrastination is strongly rooted<\/p>\n A. An ancient proverb states, “It is not the size of the tree, but the depth of its roots\nthat make it strong.” Procrastination’s roots are very deep.\n
B. People who are disorganized tend to procrastinate<\/p>\n
1. Poor distinction is made between urgency and priority<\/p>\n
a. The tendency is to do the easy things first<\/p>\n b. This creates a backlog of harder things which sooner or later\nbecome urgent.\n
c. The one who delayed following Jesus – Matthew 8:21-22<\/p>\n
2. Then there are those who are easily distracted.<\/p>\n a. Something else has come up and before you know it, things needing\nto be done are left only half completed.\n
3. Another factor is forgetfulness<\/p>\n a. If you ask, the answer is “Of course I remember, I was just about to\ndo it.”\n b. We all forget at times, but for too many it becomes a convenient\ncrutch.\n 4. Finally, there is the problem of lumping everything together – that all tasks\ncome as an inseparable whole.\n a. When kids are told to clean their rooms, they will whine, moan, and\ndrag their feet.\n b. They see the task as one monstrous whole that never will be\ncompleted.\n
C. For other people, the motivation to put things off is fear<\/p>\n
1. Sometimes it a fear of making the wrong choice. <\/p>\n a. “Oh, I don’t know why. I know I should do it, so why can’t I just\ndo it?” \n
b. The person is locked in an ever fluctuating orbit of indecision.<\/p>\n
c. Lot’s delay in leaving Sodom – Genesis 19:16<\/p>\n
2. Sometimes it is lack of discipline<\/p>\n a. “I planned to do it, but when the time came, I just didn’t feel like\nit.”\n
b. It is a dislike or even fear of being uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
c. Discipline is doing things even when you don’t want to or like to.<\/p>\n
d. Felix’s delay – Acts 24:25<\/p>\n
D. Still another reason is perfectionism<\/p>\n
1. You have to do things because others can’t get it right.<\/p>\n a. So you taken on more than a reasonable person can handle in the\ngiven amount of time.\n 2. You insist on not starting on something if you don’t believe you can do it\nwell.\n
3. You don’t want to start something unless you are certain you can finish it.<\/p>\n
E. Then there is the lack of belief in what you need to do.<\/p>\n
1. If you don’t believe in something, it is easy to put it off<\/p>\n
2. Those who did not believe in the resurrection – Acts 17:32<\/p>\n
III. Procrastination keeps many people from doing the things they ought to do.<\/p>\n
A. Rom 13:11-14 – It is high time to wake up and get moving.<\/p>\n
B. Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?”<\/p>\n 1. Haggai 2:4-5 – The leaders of Judah had done nothing, in part because of\nfear.\n 2. If we are to overcome, we need to recognize what it is that we fear. Only\nthen can we deal with the fear.\n
C. Get organized<\/p>\n 1. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated. When I get bogged down, I’ll make a\nto-do list to check off. \n
2. I won’t get everything off, but I can see the progress.<\/p>\n
3. Break large things up into manageable chunks. <\/p>\n
a. Perhaps today you can put all the toys back.<\/p>\n
b. Tomorrow you can straighten out the bookshelf<\/p>\n c. This leaves you time to do small, but important things (like\nhomework)\n
d. It also makes things less frightening<\/p>\n
D. Whatever we do, it is to be with our strength – Col 3:23<\/p>\n
IV. You see one decision some of you have put off is that of serving God<\/p>\n
A. Oh, there are many reasons, but they all lead to procrastination<\/p>\n
1. Some people don’t want to face the displeasure of family (fear)<\/p>\n 2. Some won’t do anything until they are convinced they can do it perfectly\n(perfectionism)\n 3. Some feel there is plenty of time to decide later, but there are more urgent\nthings that need to be done now (disorganized priorities)\n 4. Some are overwhelmed by all that is required. It is too big of change right\nnow (lumping)\n 5. Some know what they need to do and they start, but other matters get in\nthe way (disorganized distractions)\n B. Sometimes the best cure is to just do it. You know what is required of you. You\nhave delayed too long. Own up to the fact and just do what you need to do right\nnow.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Haggai 1:2-11 While cleaning out his desk, a man found a shoe-repair ticket that was ten years old. Figuring that he had nothing to lose, he went to the shop and gave the ticket to the repairman, who began to search the back room for the unclaimed shoes. After…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1069],"class_list":["post-62861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-procrastination"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37638,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-i-am-old-then-ill-be-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":62861,"position":0},"title":"When I am Old, Then I’ll be Good","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 25:1-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 parable of the vineyard workers we learn that salvation is available to all who will come to the Lord, no matter when it is done - Matthew 20:1-16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus in his mercy chooses to treat all alike. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When an elderly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44234,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/putting-off-the-lords-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":62861,"position":1},"title":"Putting Off the Lord’s Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by PJ Anderson","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55210,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-bible-doesnt-say-dont-do-it-does-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":62861,"position":2},"title":"The Bible Doesn’t Say, “Don’t Do It,” Does it?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Jackson Solomon once wrote that \"there is no new thing under the sun\" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). 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