By Andrea Goebel
God’s Way
“What does procrastinate mean?” my daughter asked.
She had just finished reading a story to me about manners, and she didn’t know what the final word in the book meant.
“Procrastinate? That means you wait to complete a task until just before it has to be done,” I answered.
“Mommy knows about that word,” my husband chimed in.
“Why is that?” our daughter wanted to know.
“Because I tend to wait until the last minute to do things,” I admitted.
It’s true. Whether it is waiting after their birthdays to order presents for family members; waiting until the night before a writing contest ends to submit my work; or waiting until Good Friday to make my Lenten confession, I typically wait until the last possible moment to do some things on my list.
Perhaps you procrastinate occasionally, too. Whether it’s because you feel anxious about a certain task, you don’t know how to do it or you simply don’t want to do it, you may wait until the deadline is agonizingly near to tackle your to-do. You may think, that as long as I complete it by the time it’s due, everything will be OK.
And for the most part, it is. Sometimes, everything comes together perfectly in our frenzied rush, and we congratulate ourselves on our ability to pull everything together at the last minute.
Other times, we’re not so lucky, and we may end up on the uncomfortable, disappointing side of procrastination. When I waited too long to book an outing for some quality time with my daughter at a place she had begged to go to, I discovered that the times I had wanted to reserve were no longer available, and we were unable to go.
Jesus uses a simple parable to teach us a big lesson on the topic of neglecting our preparations for the future. He says, “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:1). Five girls (the wise ones) brought extra oil to use for their lamps, and the other five (the foolish ones) did not. While they were waiting, “Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep” (25:5). When they heard he was on his way, the five who did not have extra oil left to buy more. While they were gone, the bridegroom arrived and welcomed the wise ones inside with him. Upon their return, the five foolish girls begged him to let them in, but he replied: “‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you’” (25:12). Jesus ends the parable with this admonition: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (25:13).
We don’t know the future. We don’t know God’s plans for our lives or for his triumphant return. But we do know that time will come one day. Just as the foolish girls neglected to bring extra oil, if we are not intentional in our relationship with God, we could also find ourselves on the outside of his kingdom, looking in. It’s a haunting thought.
Thankfully, God is kind enough to offer us his wisdom through this parable by nudging us to prepare for his coming now. He wants to welcome all of his children to his eternal banquet. He graces us with this reminder that we should not procrastinate on what is important in life.
When we prioritize our relationship with God, we gain so many opportunities to learn from him, grow closer to him and share our lives with him. Why wait until the last minute to spend time with him when you can start this minute?