Do you cook the game you catch?

Lawns turn into weed patches, houses fall apart, cars become inoperable, lives go to wreckage – often because of one simple phrase: “I’m going to do that… tomorrow.”   As a pastor I spend a major part of my time helping people. By the time they are talking with me, what was a little issue has become a HUGE problem.  As we walk it back, tugging at the threads that make the big knot, often we discover something that could have been taken care of with very little effort that was pushed off to ‘tomorrow.’  Oh, it’s not that we don’t know what we should do.  We even promise ourselves and others we will do it, but – tomorrow never comes.

 
Why is executing our promises so difficult?

We 'over promise.' We do not think through the real cost and when we figure it out, we conclude that keeping the promise is just too expensive. Jesus warns: “Don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?" (Luke 14:28, NLT)

We get distracted.  It’s easy to let today's urgent needs control us so that we never get to the important stuff.  If I allow others to manage my schedule I come to week’s end frustrated!  If I answer the phone ever time it rings, chase every email the moment it hits my inbox, Sunday’s sermon preparation keeps getting pushed back until on Friday afternoon I feel a sense of panic. (I don’t let that happen very often!)  Marriages get neglected, usually not because a spouse actually thinks, "I'll just ignore him, and my marriage will slowly die," but because the important need for intimacy is overcome by ringing phones, bills, and schedules that demand more and more time. The Bible teaches us a principle: "Choose today whom you will serve." (Joshua 24:15) Take charge of your life and set priorities. “Do first things, first!”

 
We procrastinate! "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow; you're only a day away," sings Little Orphan Annie.  The hope of a better tomorrow can be buried by the accumulated 'junk' that carries over from yesterday! Lives, relationships, homes- go to ruin one day at time. A house that is full of dirt and in disarray, gets that way when today's mess carries over into the next day, and the next..... until the job of cleaning is overwhelming. Generally things don't just collapse, they disintegrate by one neglect that is piled on another.  St. Augustine observed that “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.”   Finish a task before starting another. Of course, some things require more than a day to accomplish, but think of the promises that would be kept, if only we seized today's opportunities!

We are sinners. Paul, in that wonderful awful chapter 7 of Romans, says, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." (Romans 7:18, NIV) The brokenness of our sinful nature wrestles against the spiritual nature.  Sin, at work in me, works to frustrate my best intentions.  We all know how well weeds flourish even in the garden. Flowers only grow if we pour on the attention- watering and cultivating. The Gardener must be invited into our lives regularly, so that He can do in us, what we cannot do for ourselves. At the end of our resources, He is our great Resource. Because of Him, we can say confidently, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NIV) That's no empty promise!  There is no shame in throwing ourselves desperately on Christ, praying for transformation of the Spirit. However, when the Spirit comes, He will summon us to work!

Here’s a word from the Word.  Though a challenge, may the Lord use to bless you.

"Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up." (Proverbs 12:24-25, NLT)

"Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find." (Proverbs 12:27, NLT)