On Time on Target
“If you leave it to the last minute, it only takes a minute.”
Perhaps I will write something about procrastination… later.
Not everything needs to be done now. In fact, some things will be made worse if we do them now. Artillery, for instance, must be neither early nor late. It must always be on time.
We have all heard motivational speakers warn against procrastination…. My college athletics director, Dewey Short, had a simple saying, “Do it Now.” If something needs to be done now, do it now.
Speed is nothing without discernment. Standing in a crowded, busy room at a family gathering may not be a timely moment to inform a cousin that Mormonism is not the same as Christianity, and the flames of hell await its adherents.
They need to know Mormonism is a false religion, if they have not already perceived this to be our opinion. However, with prayer, the Holy Spirit will appoint a better opportunity.
We can try to force the Gospel on individuals who clearly demonstrate they are unready and unwilling to come to faith. We run the danger of helping the enemy harden their hearts.
Swiftness is essential, but so is tactical timing. Leaders will somethings speak of the need for a “tactical pause,” to rest the troops, await assets or allow other components of the offensive to come into position.
Military tacticians from Sun Tzu to modern strategists emphasize the need for speedy operations. The great Carl von Clausewitz, a staple of tactical history and enemy of Napolean, said simply “Never waste time,” in his treatise On War. Ironically, this book was published posthumously. We do not need a dead Prussian general to tell us time is precious, but it helps.
Do not be too eager to check the fluffy cake in the oven or it will fall and you will end up with brownies.
Automobiles once had “timing chains,” which ensured the spark went to the cylinder only when it had the appropriate air/fuel ratio. Our spiritual lives need timing chains.
When we take time to consolidate gains, rest, or allow someone else to get there first to take credit, we are still doing something. We may have to wait for someone else to figure out their own circumstances when we would rather rush in to fix things. We are still not refraining from tactical activity.
Sometimes we waste time by doing things at the wrong time. Sometimes we need a tactical pause. Great discernment is required to know when to postpone....
Awaiting God’s timing is not an excuse for laziness. I have interacted with many people who were slovenly in waging spiritual warfare. They made excuses; “warriors need rest,” “I’m waiting on the Lord.” They had not done anything requiring rest, and they had been waiting on the Lord for decades.
Some simple tasks do not need overplanning or overcommunicating, which is a favorite procrastinator’s technique. Military staff officers are fond of saying sarcastically, “If you leave it to the last minute, it only takes a minute.” We must learn what things can be easily executed without the “paralysis of analysis.”
“Don’t pull the cake out too early”
Never Waste Time
Greek philosophers would time their speeches with jugs which had a hole at the base. They would cork the hole and fill the jug with water. When the speaker started talking, someone would pull the cork and the water would start dribbling out. When the jug was empty, the speech was over. With this timing technique, no one orator was allowed to speak longer than another. The device was known as a “klepshydra,” translated, “water thief.”
What water thieves govern our lives, stealing our valuable time? We do not know how much water is in our jug of life. We do know our “water” is running out. Make sure it nourishes the right flowers.
Paul admonishes us, “knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed,” (Romans 13:11).
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I will write a more complete procrastination treatise later.
Lack of timing can cause us to assume roles for which we are not ready. Many young ministers have suffered because they were eager to get into the pulpit and their elders neglected to caution them, prepare them, or otherwise slow them down. Do not be so eager to graduate seminary.
Don’t pull the cake out too early. God operates your timing chain.
Now is always the time to repent. Now is the time to get rid of a bad habit or a bad attitude.
Now is the time to rid oneself of excuses. Excuses simply make sure we continue to waste time while feeling good about it.
In John seven, Jesus’ brothers encourage Him to go the Feast of Tabernacles and claim His rightful place. Jesus told them, “My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready,” (John 7:6b). His brothers encouraged Him to act immediately because they did not believe in Him.
This week, let us all the have faith to do it now, but do the timely thing now.