A few days ago, I posted The Gospel is the Cure for Dream-Killing Procrastination. In it, I talked about how there are many different types of procrastination – each with its own motivation, characteristics, and effect.
But the glorious good news of the gospel, I believe, is the cure for them all. I can’t wait to talk more about this – and other forms of procrastination – in the future.
After writing about the type of procrastination that’s based on the fear of failure, I was contacted by Dave from Armchair Theology. He was eager to share his struggles with a particular form of procrastination based on his pride.
The following is a guest post from Dave. Enjoy.
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I’m a procrastinator.
Scratch that. I’m an epic procrastinator. From the workplace to school to family responsibilities, I am habitually putting things off. You can understand how excited I was when I read the title, The Gospel is the Cure for Dream-Killing Procrastination.
Loren wrote a killer post but, for some reason, it didn’t speak to me. The article didn’t address the problem I have.
Loren wrote the article on the premise that procrastination is what we do when we fear failure. I’m sure Loren is correct in many cases, but not my case. You see, I’m gifted. It’s weird to write that but it’s true; I’m good at almost everything I do from differential equations to sports to studying the Bible. Pride, not procrastination-inducing fear, is what I feel when faced with a challenge.
The Mind of This Procrastinator
Why do I procrastinate? It’s simple: I don’t feel like doing what I’m supposed to do.
My procrastination is due to the fact that I don’t have the discipline to complete my responsibilities when I’d rather be doing something else.
Should I simply man up and do it? That is certainly one philosophy. But I had a sneaking suspicion that Loren’s original thought, that the gospel is the cure for procrastination, holds true no matter the source of the procrastination.
After some reflection, I realized that my procrastination has an obvious source: I am an idolater. Instead of finding fellowship with the Lord in the responsibilities God has put before me, I decide something else is better. I’m telling God that his plan for this day isn’t as eternally fulfilling as mine. I’m an idolater of self.
Enter the Gospel
What does the gospel have to do with this? Jesus had a responsibility too. It was the most bitter responsibility anyone has ever endured: the greatest humiliation and the greatest pain. He endured it to pay the debt of human sin – including the sin of idolatry which produces my procrastination.
In contrast to my idolatry, Christ joyfully went to the cross (Heb 12:2) to save me from the death I have earned. That’s the most beautiful truth ever told. And it does two things to me:
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The beauty of the love manifested on the cross makes me delight in Jesus. When I delight in Christ, I no longer delight in things outside him.
Seeing Jesus joyfully take the greatest burden of all to the cross inspires me to joyfully take on the responsibilities he has given me – responsibilities through which I can fellowship with him because they are commissioned by him.
The gospel makes me want to desert my motivation for procrastination.
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