August 18, 2013 Swift Church J. Keith Cardwell Procrastinating Pete Luke 9:59-62 Intro to scripture reading: We’re looking at “Our Favorite Sins” as self-revealed in a Barna research survey and written about in Todd Hunter’s book. Last week we looked at anxiety, a sin acknowledged by 60% of survey participants. Today is procrastination. 60% of Americans also rate procrastination as their greatest sin. Have you put off things that you should be focusing on now, in favor of doing something that is more enjoyable? That’s procrastination in a nutshell. This is not to be confused with laziness. (We’ll address that in a few weeks.) Procrastinating Pete is a composite of Hunter’s clients. He always files for an extension on his taxes because he forgets that April 15th is tax day. He puts off matters of importance. It affects his life. It comes up in performance reviews. His family has lost respect for him because he doesn’t follow through with his commitments. He has tried scare tactics, shame, guilt, telling himself his behavior is immoral, but these methods of overcoming his problem only a few weeks. Then he falls back into his old pattern. He feels overwhelmed but he can’t make himself change. Procrastination does feel terrible. And it can be terrible. The essence of procrastination lies in not doing what you think you should be doing. You wait until the last minute to buy back to school supplies. You put off seeing the dentist, or getting that thing checked out by the doctor. There is a pile of dishes getting higher in the kitchen. Tomorrow you’ll take the time to learn a foreign language, to learn how to play an instrument. There’s that work project (paying bills) you need to start but before you do, maybe you should check your email--and Facebook--just to get it out of the way. A cup of coffee will get you going, it won’t take long to go to Starbucks. Maybe a few episodes of that show you like. The question remains, is it a sin? The classic Christian writings argue that we can procrastinate about only what matters: salvation. Following Jesus isn’t a matter of taking care of other business first then after all that is complete, serving our Lord. Many folks live that way. I’ll follow someday but I’m going to do this first. One day/not today. The 18th C preacher Jonathan Edwards makes a different argument. Procrastination presumes upon the grace of God. It assumes that God has given us future time. We do not know whether or not we have tomorrow, so we must wisely use the time God does give us. Procrastination, or, The Sin and Folly of Depending on Future Time According to a University of Calgary business professor, the percentage of people who admitted to difficulties with procrastination quadrupled between 1978 and 2002. In that light, it’s possible to see procrastination as a modern problem, if not an actual sin. A modern and futile answer to procrastination is willpower. Just will yourself to be productive. By sheer force you will get the job done. But, willpower is not enough. Procrastinating Pete knows this. He tried it and it worked for a while. A great deal of research indicates that willpower is like a muscle. You can exhaust it more quickly than you might imagine and, when you do, you lose your ability to self-regulate your behavior. Willpower will only get you so far. Each week I will talk about a core spiritual practice for any effective plan to gain victory over temptation. Last week was the breath prayer. Today is solitude. (mix and match). On Mondays to do the difficult work of sermon prep I often work away from the church office. I might miss an important phone call, or someone stopping by the office, but I know that Sunday is coming and I will be expected to deliver words of forgiveness, love, and hope. I’d better be ready. That makes this time a priority. Every now and then I go to the library. Or to Starbucks. Or someplace absolutely alone. The phone is turned off. (We’ll talk about media another week) Sometimes I can do this at home but other times there’s no end to the useful tasks I can do at home that fill up my time. When there’s some chore you just don’t want to tackle, every other chore seems alluring. As someone said, “My apartment is never cleaner than when I have an assignment due.” On sabbatical last year much of my time was spent in isolated places. There was nothing to do but read, pray, focus on my life and God’s calling. If I didn’t do that, I did nothing. It’s another reason I like cycling. Alone on a bicycle I have time to think, to focus, to be open to God’s presence, to prioritize life. Solitude gets me away from the temptations of busyness, and it also forces me to accept the “nothing alternative.” When you have a task you need to do but don’t want to do, make the alternative to do nothing. This rule was inspired by writer Raymond Chandler. He set aside at least four hours each day for writing; he didn’t force himself to write, but he didn’t let himself do anything else—nothing. He summed up: “Two very simple rules, a. you don’t have to write. b. you can’t do anything else. If you want to get yourself to do something—to accomplish your to do list or your homework or your work assignment you dread--then make doing nothing be the alternative. psychologytoday/blog/the-happiness-project/201202/problem-procrastination-try-do-nothing Even solitude and committing to doing nothing requires some willpower. Does it not? Nobody holds you hostage. Some of us need accountability. As a seminary student I worked in a church in suburban Cincinnati. The pastor required that I give him a sermon manuscript two weeks before my scheduled preaching date. He didn’t want the congregation to suffer listening to something I threw together at the last minute. Perhaps an accountability partner to help you complete that overwhelming task. Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, would write naked and tell his valet to hide his clothes so that he’d be unable to go outside when he was supposed to be writing. When we are alone--in solitude, doing nothing--others are not around to speak so we can hear only two voices. One voice is our worries, anxieties, and procrastinations of our disordered desires. The other is the loving, reordering and reorienting voice of God. So if you often find yourself procrastinating by working, try making yourself do nothing.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 18:04:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015