Procrastination
I'll do it tomorrow.
We all have times when we procrastinate. There is a story of a young monk who confessed to his elder that he was always struggling with procrastination. His elder told him it was his lack of faith which made it impossible for him to see God everywhere, and in all things, and for this reason he was careless and lazy about everything having to do with his salvation.
The holy Apostle Paul said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The holy Apostle Paul said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
It is in our weakness that we tend to put things off, especially when it comes to those things that pertain to our salvation. We know the importance of keeping a prayer rule, of spending time each day with the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and of being productive in our spiritual lives. We know the importance of frequent church attendance, yet put it off. Tomorrow, we tell ourselves, will be the day we will begin to take our spiritual life seriously. Tomorrow we will set our priorities, and keep to them. But tomorrow never comes.
God desires we struggle on a daily basis, ever making progress in our journey into His heart. We only need to make that first step, remembering "....I can do all things in him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Procrastination does not have to dominate our life, for in the Lord we can turn things around and make progress. Procrastination only has power over our lives if we let it. Taking steps to curb the habit of slothfulness must begin with a decision that today, with God's help, will be the day that I leave laziness and procrastination aside, and move forward with action.
God desires we struggle on a daily basis, ever making progress in our journey into His heart. We only need to make that first step, remembering "....I can do all things in him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Procrastination does not have to dominate our life, for in the Lord we can turn things around and make progress. Procrastination only has power over our lives if we let it. Taking steps to curb the habit of slothfulness must begin with a decision that today, with God's help, will be the day that I leave laziness and procrastination aside, and move forward with action.
It is procrastination that often stands in the way of our combating habitual sins that keep us from making spiritual progress. Procrastination can keep us from reconciling with family members or friends who've been estranged for years. It can keep us from making a good confession, thus unburdening ourselves of guilt that has been weighing us down. Procrastination need not rule our lives.
Fear of failure can also be a cause for procrastination. We fear that we will not be good enough at a task at hand, so we put it off. This is often a common problem among young college students.
Finally, let me make it very clear that I am not addressing the form of procrastination caused by depression. I am referencing that which is caused by laziness. Depression and procrastination often go hand in hand, but I'm not addressing this subject in the present article. As a former (recovering) psychologist I know that telling someone who is depressed they should stop procrastinating, would be counterproductive.
Love in Christ,
Fear of failure can also be a cause for procrastination. We fear that we will not be good enough at a task at hand, so we put it off. This is often a common problem among young college students.
Finally, let me make it very clear that I am not addressing the form of procrastination caused by depression. I am referencing that which is caused by laziness. Depression and procrastination often go hand in hand, but I'm not addressing this subject in the present article. As a former (recovering) psychologist I know that telling someone who is depressed they should stop procrastinating, would be counterproductive.
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Tuesday December 6, 2011 / November 23, 2011
26th Week after Pentecost. Tone eight.
Nativity Fast. Fish Allowed
Nativity Fast. Fish Allowed
St. Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium (394).
St. Gregory, bishop of Agrigentum (680).
St. Alexander Nevsky (in schema Alexis), grand prince of Novgorod (1263).
St. Metrophanes (in schema Macarius), bishop of Voronezh (1703).
New Hieromartyr Seraphim (1931).
St. John confessor (1932).
New Hieromartyr Boris bishop of Ivanonsk, Eleazar Spyridonov of Eupatoria priest, Crimea and Martyr Alexander (1937).
New Martyr Archimandrite Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, who suffered in Auschwitz, Poland (1942).
St. Sisinius the confessor, bishop of Cyzicus (ca. 325).
Martyr Theodore of Antioch (4th c.).
Venerable Ischyrion, bishop in Egypt and hermit of Scete.
St. Amphilochius of the Kiev Caves, bishop of Volhynia (1122).
St. Anthony of lezeru-Vilcea (1714) (Romania).
Venerable Trudo, abbot (693) (Neth.).
St. Helenus of Tarsus, bishop (Greek).
St. Dionysius I, patriarch of Constantinople (15th c.).
You can make donations directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA
1 Timothy 1:8-14
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
Glory to God for His Grace
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.Luke 17:26-37
26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”
37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?”
So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?”
So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
The PodCast is always different than the blog article.
As always, I enjoyed your post on procrastination. However, procrastination may not only be about laziness and depression; it may well be about fear. Fear that we aren't perfect; fear that we will make a mistake; fear that the reality of what I do will be less than the imagined potential of what I don't do. When our security, worth, and purpose do not originate and reside in Christ, we run the risk of attempting to extract these gifts from God from sources which can never satisfy them. In this process, as we become attached to worldly outcomes as we falsely believe these results will satisfy our need for security, worth, and purpose. It is easy for me to be imprisoned by my fears of what the world is not giving me and in this fear, I may falsely believe that if I could only do them better (or even perfectly) then I'd be happy (full of purpose, security, and worth). The pressure to measure up to what is impossible can lead to a procrastination and as I paralyze myself with fears that the world will not fill the empty center I have in a life centered in myself and not Christ.
ReplyDeleteFather Bless,
ReplyDeleteEncouraging post, might you have a few words for those of us who struggle with depression and a consistent prayer life. Thank you for these helpful Morning Offerings. In Christ, Marie