Manana

(Proverbs 22:13 KJV)  The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

This is obviously an isolated verse.  It is pointing out how a “slothful man” (sluggard NASB) (6102) will do anything or say anything to avoid work.

I don’t consider myself a sluggard.  I get up and go to work every day.  At work I carry my weight.  I pick up my own sox and rinse my own dishes.  I show up early and don’t sneak off when no one is looking. 

At the same time, I don’t like yard work.  I don’t see the point of making a bed I am going to get back into.  I think it is a waste of time to fold underware, just throw them in the drawer.  I can go days before I wash the dishes that don’t go in the dish washer.  You see a pattern here.  I can live with that, even if my wife can’t.

What is painful about this verse is that it reminds me of my excuse making.  When I stop to look at them, some of my excuses are on the level of “There is a lion outside.”  When I was a kid there was a song on the radio about manana.  The key words were, “Manana is soon enough for me.”  For those of you who don’t remember AM radio, “manana” is Spanish for “tomorrow.”  Alistair Begg once said something to the effect that “today” is God’s favorite word and “tomorrow” is the devil’s favorite word.  This verse yells at me about this weakness in my life.

So?  I am going to keep reminding myself, “Do it now.”  If it turns out that there really is a lion in the street, then I am ready to go.  At least I won’t have to finish my list of chores.