Procrastination: Facing the Giant

Recently, during a period of three weeks I heard 6 sermons/teachings on the topic of procrastination in a row. The fact that I heard them from different locations by different pastors might suggest that they were comparing notes. I'd suggest not.

So procrastination. We all do it. It's so easy to do too. It's subconscious sometimes and it starts with a thought. "You can do that later." Or "just one more turn/game/song/chapter." Right now you are probably procrastinating, putting off something else to read this. (I'll forgive you in this instance though)

The thing I needed 6 messages to realise was the fact that it is a very real problem. I always thought that it wasn't that bad if I delayed something. I never completely forgot anything, so what's the big deal? But when I thought about it, and when I put my life and what I did under the microscope, when I looked at it I wasn't busy with things of consequence.

So lets look at it as it is. A problem of gigantic proportions. I found that it was hindering me in my walk with God. After all, I wasted time when I had it, then I didn't have time to read His Word and communicate with Him. I realised that I couldn't keep putting off stuff. I realised that I couldn't still expect to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish by spending so little time on it. I realised that through my layers of business was nothing, but wasted time and talent.

Luckily for me, I realised before it was too late what a massive problem I had and still have. But now I know I have the problem, I can work towards beating it. The first step in beating the giant is facing it. If you can't face it, how can you beat it let alone fight it. And that's the problem. I don't think a lot of people realise they actually have a problem called procrastination.

Chocolate Christian?

Following on from my last blog called Even When It Hurts, I have decided to pose another question. It is this: if you're not willing to follow Him when it hurts, are you really following Him at all?

It's a thought that I have paraphrased from the book Do Hard Things by Brett and Alex Harris. Point is this. Everyone has good times and easy times. Times when things go well. When being a Christian isn't all that hard. But what about the times when being a Christian is hard? What about when your friends desert you because of your belief? What about when you are ridiculed or put down, shut out or ignored? Will you still be so eager to follow Him?

Or what about when God tells you to go talk to a new person at church, or a lonely person at school? Still so eager?

Or what about other things that hurt and stretch you? The things you haven't done before. The things that you are afraid of. The things that take you out of your comfort zone. Are you still eager? Or do you want to ignore them?

This is something I have a lot of problem with. Sometimes I want to run away and hide from all my duties as an adult, as a christian and as a leader. But, despite all this, I know that I need to hang in during the testing times and not only that, but live a life of selflessness rather than selfishness. As it says in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The key part is the denying of self. Whatever it is, deny self and complete the task. When what you're doing hurts and stretchs you, deny self and see it through.

Is all you're doing showing the light that you proclaim? Or are you only there while its easy?

If you're not willing to follow Him when it hurts, are you really following him at all?

even when it hurts

As a bit of a sports nut, I enjoy a bit of exercise here and there. Since leaving school however, I think that my level of fitness has dropped enough for me to notice and care. At this point, I have been trying to go for a run as often as I can, usually in the afternoon at about 5.30. All to often I find myself sitting at home, the time for exercise has passed and I haven't taken the chance. I'll blog about procrastination one day, excuse the pun.

The point I want to make involves me actually going for that run I wanted to. And usually it involves pain, shortness of breath and a great amount of will power. About 1km into my I start to struggle, and I still have most of the run to go. But I push on. I know that I can run the full distance without stopping. I also know that if I stop then the benefit of that run will be tarnished and downgraded. I often have a voice in my head tell me, "just this once, you can walk and nothing will happen and no one will be hurt by it"

Surprising how close this is to the lie of the devil. He tells us that this sin and that sin can go unnoticed and unpunished. He tells us that it won't compromise us or damage us. He tells us that everything will be the same as it was. Don't believe that lie. Everything has a consequence. Good and bad. Every decision brings the need for another. Every lie births a second, and a third.

And so, I want to encourage you. Even when the temptation is so great that you want to give in. Whatever the sin and temptation may be- Don't! When the hard ships of life close in around you and when critics circle above you like vultures; don't stop. Crawl if you have to. But don't give up or give in.

Just like I had to think about the benefit of carrying on in my run, you also have to think about the blessing and benefit available once you pass through the storm.

Even when it hurts...

Fact and Fiction

Many have read the book The Shack by W. Paul Young across the world. It is currently one of the best selling books in print. Yet despite this, many people have rated it poorly, wrote defaming reviews and began many an argument about the nature of biblical content. I read this book a while ago, so a lot of what I read has now been forgotten. What I do remember however is, how much I liked this book and how much it made sense to me when I thought about it. Problem is/was my naivety and my willingness to accept anything that made sense without actually doing some research to see what the Bible said.

Since I finished the book, I have begun listening to Ps. Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I suggest watching this video on what he had to say about The Shack from a biblical viewpoint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK65Jfny70Y

If you watched the video you would have seen a pretty black and white picture painted before you. Yet despite this, I don't want you to take his word for it. What I would encourage you to do is to read the book and compare what it says to what it says in the bible, so to define your own beliefs about it.

Finally, The Shack is a work of fiction, which is the explanation I have recieved when I asked both my mother and my friend about it. This opened up a whole new set of questions for me. As an aspiring writer, is it okay for me to say whatever I want in a novel? Can I write about something so essential to christianity and not have my facts right?

Surely writing a novel about the God of the Bible is not the same as writing a novel about war or crime. After all what is prison time in comparison to eternity? But I'm not so sure. I really wish there was a difference between the two.

And finally, is there such thing as a novel about God?

Thinking Juice

So the title of my blog page is In My Own Words, however it is only named such because I thought that naming the page "We Have To Change The Way We Think" was a bit long and tacky. That title adequately describes what I hope to achieve by writing this blog. I truly and honestly believe that we as people need to change the way we think about things and not just that but also the way we do things.

All I wish to do is to encourage people to look at things differently to the way we normally look at things. I think we need to throw away the preconceived ideas about whatever it may be and press on to find answers of our own. And from that, draw new pictures of our lives and their significance, for us and for others.