A Sure Path to Failure

We have all heard the phrase: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

No one sets out hoping to fail. In fact, when failure comes, we often talk as though it simply happened to us. But Proverbs reminds us that sometimes today's failure began with yesterday's neglect.

Proverbs 20:4 says:

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

The point is simple:

Failure in one season creates consequences in the next.

The sluggard wants a harvest. He just doesn't want to do the work when it needs to be done.

We can fall into the same trap. We become so consumed with the urgent that we neglect the essential.

Big Cooper recently introduced me to a helpful phrase: “work outside of work.” In other words, how much effort do we give to the parts of life that don't come with a paycheck or deadline?

Are you giving your family, friendships, spiritual life, home, and health the same intentionality you give your job?

We often say, “I'm too busy.” Sometimes that is absolutely true. But other times our screen-time reports, streaming history, and entertainment habits suggest that the problem isn't simply the amount of time we have.

The things we prioritize tend to get done.

For many of us, the issue isn't a lack of time but a failure to order our time around what matters most.

The farmer in Proverbs couldn't wait until harvest season to decide he wanted a crop. There was work that had to be done months earlier.

The same is true in life.

The conversation you keep postponing, the relationship you keep neglecting, the habit you keep avoiding, the spiritual discipline you keep putting off—eventually harvest comes.

What are you failing to do today that you will wish you had done when harvest comes?

Sure an evening to rest is nice, but is that good thing (rest) becoming a required thing to get though the day. If so, we are only building the problems of tomorrow due to our failure to deal with them today!