Pro 19:16, 24 NKJV He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, [But] he who is careless of his ways will die. … (24) A lazy [man] buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Dear Son, follow through. The world if filled with people who start something but never finish. The word we use for that today procrastination. Some people even take pride in the fact that they are procrastinators. Don’t be a procrastinator. Procrastinators use the excuse, “I’ll get to that later.”

Procrastinators begin a project with gusto ready to conquer the world. Their heads are full of ideas ready to be worked out. Yet when they choose one and start to work on it, they feel bored and boxed in. They don’t want to actually do the work to bring their dream to a reality. You see procrastinators are actually lazy.

You never get “the best” from a procrastinator because they wait until the last minute to meet a deadline. They actually then turn that around and use it as an excuse for why something is broken, missing, etc. They imagine that the world is full of sympathy because they had this issue, or something came up, etc. Certainly the ills of life do happen, but they happen to a procrastinator on every project, every time.

Be someone who has follow through. If you commit to do something, do it with all of your might, even when it get’s boring in the middle. Be someone who delights in a finished product (not just ideas). Be one who holds yourself to a higher standard (not one who thinks everyone should empathize because after all you just threw this together 30 minutes ago). Don’t be Lazy.

The reason I guess I’m so hard on procrastinators is that I’ve been one. I almost didn’t graduate college because I procrastinated on delivering my thesis for nearly a year! I always found something more interesting, urgent, fun to do and put off writing my paper until it could be put off no longer. I wonder how much quicker things would have happened if I had the discipline to sit down and work when it wasn’t fun. The irony is that I’ve actually come to enjoy the writing process. It just took work to get me there.

Father, thank you for the grace of speaking truth into the lives of my children. I pray that they wouldn’t be lazy. I pray that they finish what they start. I pray that whatever they put their hand to has purpose and meaning and they feel the pride and joy of hearing “job well done!” when they have completed a task. I ask for your grace to move in their lives to cause them to be productive not just with tasks, but for the kingdom of God. Let them be those who aren’t afraid to attempt the great things that you are calling them too. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Prayer

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