Tomorrow Never Comes

January 30, 2012

"Please see that now is the accepted time; and see that now is the day of salvation." (II Corinthians 6:2)

Did you hear the story of the service station owner who wanted to drum up some business, but in the process he disappointed a lot of people who read his sign that said, “Free Gas Tomorrow.” A lot of people were very attracted to the idea of getting anything “free,” (especially gasoline at its price today), and in their excitement missed the implication of the word “tomorrow” on the sign. When they came the next day for their “free” gas they had to be reminded that tomorrow had not come.

Some people live by the motto, “I will do it tomorrow” – these people are called procrastinators. Procrastinators never accept their responsibility of being timely, whether only a few minutes later or much later. By procrastinating they feel they are in control of when they want to do the things that others are depending on them to do. Procrastinators are self-centered and inconsiderate.

Procrastination robs us of healthy relationships – spouse, friend, boss, children, etc. It is a character flaw which can affect every part of our life. Have you ever known anyone who is habitually late? If they are in control of the event they will certainly be there on time but if someone else is in charge of a meeting, etc. they will get there when they are “good and ready” – they are selfish and inconsiderate. Part of doing a job well done is doing it in a timely fashion. One of the main points in pleasing an employer is to be punctual when arriving on the job, as well as completing the assigned task on time. If we procrastinate very many times on our job it may cost us that job.

Procrastination robs us of the joy of a job well done and of pleasing the one for whom we are serving. It robs us of the joy of obeying and accomplishment. Most of all procrastination robs us of the joy of accomplishing God’s plan and purpose (which includes accomplishing His plan in His time). God may count a day as a thousand years, but when planning for us humans He plans for us in our time (24 hour days).

Last year I received a book by David Jeremiah by the name of, Facing the Giants In Your Life. One of the chapters in the study guide is, “Facing the Giant of Procrastination,” and in that chapter it gives a good definition of procrastination – (below).
The Latin word for tomorrow was cras, from which the adjective, crastinus, “of tomorrow,” was derived. The prefix pro meant “forward” or “toward.” Therefore, the Latin verb procrastinare came to mean “put forward to tomorrow.” The person who procrastinates is the person who promises himself each day, “I will do it tomorrow.” And when tomorrow comes, the same promise is made again and again. That is, tomorrow is far enough away to avoid the discomfort we feel about getting it done at all. One wonders if Latin cras (tomorrow) was connected to crassus, the Latin word for “dense.” Procrastinators could certainly be called crass as we define it today—”lacking in discrimination and sensibility.”

The Word of God has quite a bit to say about “procrastination” and setting your own time table. James 4:13-17 says, “Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet you do not know the least thing about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are really but a wisp of vapor, a puff of smoke, a mist that is visible for a little while and then disappears into thin air. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and shall do this or that thing. But as it is, you boast falsely in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong. So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.” (Amp)

David Jeremiah also in commenting on Ephesians 5:16 which says to "redeem the time because the days are evil," says, "The best way to make the most of a life given as a gift from God is to make the most of today. When Paul wrote, '...redeeming the time,' he was talking about today, tomorrow, the day after--one day at a time. Why the focus on today? Because a day not redeemed is a day gone forever, and because a life is nothing but a collection ot todays."

Procrastination can be damning. God has an acceptable time set for our salvation. II Corinthians 6:1-2, Paul is begging the Corinthians who have heard the message to receive God’s grace and turn to Christ, “Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day to be saved.” In Acts 23 and 24, Paul had the opportunity to witness to Felix, the Governor, while Felix was hearing the complaints against Paul from the High Priest and some elders. Then later Felix and his wife called for Paul to listen to Paul’s faith; about uprightness, purity of life and the judgment to come. Felix became alarmed and terrified and said, “Go away for the present; when I have a convenient opportunity, I will send for you” (vs.24-25 Amp.). There is no record that Felix ever accepted the claims of Christ on his life. There are some things you can procrastinate about and get by with, but putting off a decision about Christ is not one of them. After death there are no tomorrows, no second chances, no do-overs when it comes to salvation. Procrastination is filled with excuses why “now” is not the right time. Luke 9:59-62 tells us of some of the excuses given Jesus when He called them to become His followers. The first man said, “Lord, permit me to go and await the death of my father.” Another said, “Let me first say good-bye to those at my home.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back to the things behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Procrastinator’s priorities are all askew. If they make a list of prioritized “to-dos,” they end up doing just what feels good at the time, because they can always do those other things tomorrow. The heartache of procrastination is remorse –“If only I would have --.“ "Procrastination is not only the thief of time, it is also the grave of opportunity" - (unknown).

There is an unbelievable story in Exodus 8 about when Moses was pleading with Pharaoh to let the Children of Israel go. God had brought the plague of frogs into the land. Frogs were in the Egyptian’s beds, cooking pots, ovens, kneading bowls, dough and on the people. So Pharaoh called for Moses to take away the plague of frogs. Moses said to him, “When shall I pray for you and your people that the frogs may be destroyed from you and remain only in the rivers?” Pharaoh, the procrastinator, answered, “Tomorrow.” Moses answered, “Let it be as you say, so you will know there is no one like the Lord our God.” The absurdity of Pharaoh choosing to stay in his misery until “tomorrow,” is mind boggling.

It is the same for unbelievers who put off receiving God’s free gift of eternal life until “tomorrow.” None of us has a promise of “tomorrow,” because tomorrow never comes!