Like many writers, I have a special gift for
procrastination. It might be news to non-writers, but the act of writing
professionally is hard work. Whenever I hear someone declare enthusiastically,
“Oh, I just love to write!” I can’t help but think, “Yeah, you probably don’t
write for a living.”
One writer aptly described writing in these words: “All you
have to do is sit down at your computer, put your fingers on the keyboard, and
stare at the screen until beads of blood appear on your forehead.” So can you
blame writers for being prone to procrastinating, doing just about anything to
avoid or delay the intense concentration that eventually will give birth to
words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, articles and books?
Of course, procrastination is hardly exclusive to writers.
In one way or another, we’ve all at times nodded our heads at the admonition
(or excuse), “Why do today what you can easily put off until tomorrow?”
It might be a time-intensive task like cleaning the garage,
doing a household repair, or sorting through junk accumulated in the attic. It
could be a project at work that will demand undivided attention once you start.
Or perhaps there’s an unpleasant interaction you must have with a family member
or friend. You able to think of all kinds of things to do to escape doing the
difficult or undesirable.
But sometimes there’s another factor behind our
procrastinations: Fear. It might be fear of going to the doctor to address a
health problem, suspecting it’s more than something a prescription or two can
resolve. Or the fear of going to the dentist to have that achy tooth checked
out, having an idea it might require a drill – or even an extraction – to
correct.
There also might be fear of failure, or fear of starting something
you can’t finish. I’ve spent my entire career writing non-fiction, first
newspaper articles, then pieces for magazines and later, books. But I’ve always
wondered about writing fiction. I have a couple of good ideas for novels, but feeling apprehensive about whether I’m creative or imaginative enough to write about make-believe
people in not-real settings doing things I conjure in my mind, I’ve yet to commit myself to
the pursuit of attempting to become a novelist.
Maybe that day will come, but my point is that if fear’s the
basis for our procrastinating, one antidote would be to turn to the One who
keeps telling us, “Fear not.” That’s what the angel told Mary in declaring in
essence, “Guess what? You’re a virgin, you’ve never been with a man, but you’re
going to become pregnant by divine conception. And even better, the baby you’ll
carry and deliver will be the Son of God.” Do you think Mary, confronted with
that startling revelation, might have preferred to indulge in a bit of
procrastination if given the choice?
The good
news for all seasoned procrastinators is the God of the universe constantly
reminds us not to let fear get in the way of doing what we know we should do,
whether it’s something as tame as deciding whether to expand our horizons
professionally or as serious as dealing with a very troubling personal matter.
Trusting in
His love, we’re told, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out
fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made
perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).
Through
the prophet Isaiah, God assured, “Do not
fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I
will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My
righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Whatever we find necessary to do,
He’s with us.
In
striving to live out our faith in an increasingly faithless world, even “giving an answer to everyone who asks you
to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15), we’re
admonished to not worry about how they will respond to what we say. “For God has not
given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
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