The Satisfaction of Finally Getting Around To It

Well, I can honestly announce that I have finally gotten around to it. Or to be more accurate, I’ve gotten a round TUIT. A while back someone sent me a round wooden disc in which are burned the letters, ‘TUIT.’

On the back of the “coin” it says, “This is a Round TUIT. Guard it with your life. It could help you be more efficient. For years you’ve heard, ‘I’ll do it as soon as I get a Round Tuit.’ Now that you have your own, you can accomplish all those things you put aside until you got this Round TUIT.” I guess if that’s all it takes, I’ve got it made now.

 

Unfortunately, for many of us it requires a lot more than a silly wooden coin to motivate or inspire us to pursue those tasks we’ve been avoiding for weeks, or months, or even years. Some of us have even been considering joining the National Procrastination Society – we just haven’t gotten…around to it.

 

Lots of people delay necessary and important projects with great skill. One wag put it this way: “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” Maybe it was a dyslexic person reading Benjamin Franklin’s more challenging quote, “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” The question is, why do so many of us become pro at ‘crastinating’?

 

I can only speak for myself, but my reasons include: 

• I understand how much time and energy it will require to complete the job.
• I’m afraid of failing. If I don’t start, maybe I can avoid the pain of being unable to finish.
• If I don’t start, I can try convincing myself that if I did get started, I’d succeed.
• The tyranny of the urgent – succumbing to pesky distractions – crowds out the truly important.

 

There are probably other reasons I could think of – and if you’re a fellow procrastinator, you might have several of your own. But the truth is, until we start, failure is guaranteed.

 

As we might expect, the Bible has a lot to say about our inclination to never get around to it. One of the most prominent concerns good intentions for helping others if we don’t follow through: “Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act. Do not tell your neighbor, ‘Come back tomorrow and I will provide’ – when you already have the means” (Proverbs 3:27-28).

 

The Scriptures equate procrastination with laziness. For instance, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4). “He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment” (Proverbs 12:11). Wishing and hoping for money are not nearly as effective as actually putting in the time and effort to earn what we need.

 

An abundant future is often the result of an ambitious present. Remember Aesop’s fable about the grasshopper and the ant, when the grasshopper, starving because it was too lazy to put aside food, begs an enterprising ant for food in the dead of winter? The Bible presents a similar metaphor, minus the grasshopper:

“Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8).

 

But the Scriptures also look at other perspectives that can fuel our procrastinating ways. In an age that seems to glorify instant-gratification, the Word of God encourages us to choose hard work and determination instead: “…we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). 

 

The context of this passage speaks primarily to the importance of persevering in our faith despite adversity and opposition, but it also offers a key principle for finally tackling those tasks we’ve been so zealously avoiding: persevering with an eye toward achieving our goals.

 

We could consider a number of other scriptural teachings, but one I need to remind myself, especially when I know it’s something God is calling me to pursue, is the promise that if He directs us to do a project or take on a responsibility, He’ll also enable us to carry it through. As Philippians 4:13 declares, “I can do everything through [Christ] who gives me strength.” 

 

Here the apostle Paul was writing specifically about finding contentment regardless of his circumstances, but he also understood that the ministry the Lord had called him to would have been impossible without His empowerment. After all, Jesus had admonished his disciples, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

What is it you’ve been putting off – or avoiding – with such diligence? When do you expect to get around to it? Maybe like me you need a Round TUIT. If you’re nice, maybe I’ll let you borrow mine.

Intentions and the Ever-Elusive ‘Round Tuit’

Have you ever seen a “round tuit”? Years ago a friend gave me one, a round, wooden coin displaying a circle around the word, “TUIT.” It’s ideal for people who are always saying, “I’ll get around to it.” When they say that, just hand them the little coin and say, “Now you have one.”

If you ever get your hands on one of these, you can
never claim being unable to "get around to it."

As silly as that seems, too often our lives seem to be plagued by failure to get a “round tuit.” We know we need to make that phone call to an old friend or a family member, but have a hard time getting around to it. We should start that weight-loss program, or a consistent exercise program – we just can’t seem to get around to it.

Saturday arrives and your spouse asks you to do some undesirable chore. You promise to “get around to it,” but don’t. (My hand is raised – guilty as charged.) Or someone recommends an excellent book to read, and you know it would be helpful, but never get around to it.

Thousands of Baby Boomers now contemplating retirement realize they’re not close to being ready financially. They intended to get with a financial advisor, or embark on a consistent savings program for the time when they’d no longer be drawing a regular paycheck, but didn’t get around to it. Now it’s too late.

Maybe at a worship service or conference we’re inspired to take steps to strengthen our spiritual life. “I’m going to start reading my Bible and pray. I want to do it every day.” But somehow, we never get around to it.

It’s all about good intentions. Someone said a long time ago, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Too harsh? Well, Aldous Huxley, author of the classic novel, Brave New World, expanded on that idea. He said, “Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions; it’s walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too.” Clever – and true, in many cases.

Margaret Thatcher, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, made this observation: “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.” She was right. After spotting the victim of highway robbers and thinking, “Someone ought to do something!” the Good Samaritan decided he needed to be that “someone” and took action to help (Luke 10:25-37). 

Good intentions aren’t bad – as long as they’re accompanied by good implementations. I know the difference. As a professional writer, all of my work to date has been with non-fiction. I’ve always wondered if I have it in me to write a novel, and my intention has been to give it a try. But aside from some halting attempts, I haven’t yet given this a wholehearted effort. Until I move my good intentions into action, I’ll always wonder, “What if…?”

The same applies to the concern and compassion many of us feel toward the downtrodden, people in need. Like the Good Samaritan we realize someone should do something. Rather than waiting for the government or some charitable agency to do all the work, maybe we could be that someone. But we need to stir our good intentions into productive activity.

Playwright, novelist, poet and critic Oscar Wilde commented, “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”

The Bible offers a stern warning. Failure to act upon good intentions is more serious than simply missing out on opportunities. It actually defines this as sinful behavior: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

So if you ever encounter someone who argues, “I’m not a sinner” – perhaps even yourself – ask the simple question: “Have you ever failed to act on your good intentions?” If they confess that they have, then you can respond, “Busted!”