<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, \u2018Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you’\u201d (Acts 24:25).<\/p>\n
TEMPTATION COMES TO US IN VARIOUS WAYS. Sometimes we are tempted to engage in acts of deliberate disobedience. Knowing full well what God\u2019s will is, we are persuaded to do what God has said we must not do, as Eve did when she ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:1-6). At other times, however, we simply procrastinate doing what is right. We don\u2019t see ourselves as being defiant or rebellious; we just can\u2019t bring ourselves to obey today \u2014 we will take care of it tomorrow.<\/em> But while weakness may seem preferable to outright defiance, I suggest that the temptation to put off obedience until tomorrow is a worse problem than some people realize.<\/p>\n When we don\u2019t want to do what is right.<\/em> It may be that we delay doing God\u2019s will because, deep down, we don\u2019t want to do it. Like Augustine who prayed \u201cLord, make me chaste, but not yet,\u201d our delay may be a sign that we actually prefer our present situation. <\/p>\n Hoping what is right will be easier tomorrow.<\/em> If there is likely to be some pain or difficulty in doing what\u2019s right, it\u2019s tempting to think that the decision might get easier at some future date. In the real world, hard decisions only get harder the longer we wait, but somehow we think our present situation is an exception to the rule. \u201cTomorrow,\u201d we think, \u201cit will be easier. I will do it then.\u201d<\/p>\n The temptation to procrastinate is, as I said, worse than the temptation to rebel because it deludes us into a false sense of security. Feeling sure that \u201cour hearts are right,\u201d we are lulled into a pattern of default and neglect. As time goes by, our postponement becomes a permanent habit, and we find that what began as innocent procrastination has hardened into outright rebellion. All the while, we were telling ourselves that we truly \u201cwanted\u201d to obey God; we just couldn\u2019t muster the strength to do it right then.<\/p>\n As a wise observer of life once said, \u201cThere is nothing any more permanent than a temporary solution.\u201d If that\u2019s true anywhere, it\u2019s certainly true in our spiritual lives. So while we are trying to avoid deliberate revolt against God, we must also be on guard against that most deadly of disobedient words: later.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhen God says today, the devil says tomorrow\u201d (German Proverb).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n