Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring.
The sin of procrastination may not be one of the so-called “seven deadly sins,” but it may come close if it involves neglecting to do what God has clearly commanded us to do. Sins of omission may well be as serious in many cases as sins of commission. The Bible warns: “ So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin. ” (James 4:17).
To the professing Christian who deliberately goes against God’s will, either by neglect or intent, Jesus warns: “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47). This was spoken in the context of a parable, but the message was clear that it is dangerous to ignore God’s revealed will.
The principle even applies in the secular realm. “Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. ” (James 4:13-14).
The most dangerous sin of procrastination, of course, is neglecting to come to Christ for forgiveness and salvation. As Paul stressed: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Ignoring God while fully involved in pleasure or business or anything else is at least presumptuous.
To the rich man in Christ’s parable who had spent his life concentrating on accumulating goods, God said: ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?” (Luke 12:20). We do not know what even one tomorrow may bring, so we need to “walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Colossians 4:5)
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