The soul (appetite) of the lazy person craves and gets nothing [for lethargy overcomes ambition], But the soul (appetite) of the diligent [who works willingly] is rich and abundantly supplied. Proverbs 13:4 (AMP)

When I was in high school, I was a good procrastinator. All of my teachers told us we wouldn’t get by with that in college, yet somehow, I became great at procrastinating once I got there. I remember thinking that I was going to have to stop, because grad school wouldn’t leave room for putting projects off until the last minute. Wrong. I was an expert-level procrastinator and graduated with my Masters at a GPA of 4.0. Needless to say, I never really faced any consequences for leaving assignments until the very last minute. That is, until I realized my assignments were coming from a higher power. I learned quickly that procrastination doesn’t work when your actions affect the livelihood of others and the Kingdom of God.  

When God gives you an assignment, the stakes are high and there’s little to no allowance for procrastination. Delaying can mean the destruction of others and yourself. When you’re assigned to be a spouse, your actions directly impact your partner, whether you take responsibility or not. Procrastination and marriage don’t mix. Putting off paying bills or taking action on assets can lead to financial problems. Procrastinate on addressing or changing damaging habits and cycles, and your marriage will suffer. Likewise, when you’re assigned to be a parent, delay can affect the development and well-being of your child(ren). When you’re assigned to be a leader, manager, partner, or CEO, procrastination will slow or stop the progress of the ones who follow you (and, as a result, your group, division, company, etc. will become stagnant).

Being a spouse, parent and/or leader are three of the most important assignments God gives us. We have to take them seriously. Procrastinating tells God that we don’t see His assignments as priorities. I am guilty of not taking all of my responsibilities seriously sometimes. I obviously have procrastination tendencies, and I’ve had to learn that even if it doesn’t benefit me directly, others are relying and waiting on my swift action.

When you’re assigned to serve in ministry, the stakes are a little different and can add pressure. Whether you’re a teacher, ministry leader, pastor, or Sunday servant, procrastination stops the advancement of the cross. Every time God pushes me into a new assignment, I can almost immediately gauge how it will impact others by the pressure and weight I feel. And I will be truthful in saying that I’m still working on finding a happy medium- to not delay preparation when the weight feels light, and to not panic when the pressure is high. I believe this is an important concept to apply to all areas of our lives, because often we procrastinate based on our feeling of priority, forgetting that most of the small things deserve our immediate and active attention as well. In fact, showing God that we place just as much importance on our small responsibilities tells Him He can trust us with the bigger ones. Remember that our preparation and attentiveness matters, whether the assignment impacts one person or a million.

Food for Thought: Are you a good, great, or experienced procrastinator? Take it from a self-proclaimed expert, the habit of putting things off needs to go! People are relying on you to prepare, take action, and follow-up swiftly. Pray that God helps release you from procrastination, and declare that you will no longer put off your to-do list. NOW IS THE TIME!