I am impatient by nature. That doesn’t make it right–I’m just stating a fact. I hate long lines, railroad crossings, stop lights, haircuts, etc. Most of you know what I mean–it is a common problem. People just don’t like to wait.
However, there is an area where we have a right to be duly concerned about having to wait. I’m talking about waiting because of procrastination. Why does take so long to get things done? I can understand it if it is a government project–the word “government” says it all. We expect red tape when we deal with something so inept as the government. But we ought to expect more out of those who labor in the vineyard of the Lord.
Sadly “foot-dragging” is a common problem in church ministry. It seems to take forever to get the simplest things done. And don’t give me that balony about “that’s all you can expect out of volunteers”. That’s no excuse. Those same volunteers have no problem getting to work on time and finishing their secular assignments. They do what they want to do without any delay. It’s the ministry that always gets put on the back-burner. Why should God’s work always be last on the list?
This is one reason why churches limp along at a snail’s pace. People just keep dragging their feet. Simple projects seem to take forever. It can take weeks to change a burned out light bulb! After it is finally noticed someone makes mention of it, but nobody does anything. Next week somebody enquires if there are any bulbs, but nobody takes action. Finally after another week has passed someone decides to take action and the bulb is replaced. By now there is another bulb burned out and the process starts all over again.
The sad fact is that most people are selfish, undisciplined, and unorganized. We simply do not have a sense of urgency when it comes to Christian ministry. We need to correct that. We’ve all heard the saying,”Little things mean a lot”, there is even a song to that effect. Well it is true. If we would start doing the little things that need to be done it would make a big difference in the effectiveness of the church. We should have the attitude that there are no little things when it comes to serving God.
My mother used to say,”If a job is worth doing it is worth doing right.” You’ve probably heard that. Well if we’re going to do it right we need to do it without delay. We need to break the habit of procrastinating. It is like a ball and chain on the church. If there is a job to do don’t put it off. Do it without delay and you will be amazed at how much more is accomplished. Think about it!
