The Sin of Procrastination

By Pastor Jed Raquintan

As Filipino Baptists we lack the heritage of devoted giving to the work of the church. We do not have generations of great giving legacy of our forebears. Children are scarcely taught to be generous in giving their tithes and offerings which belong to the local church. Hence, expecting children to give beyond the regular tithes and offerings is not usual. When these kids become adult members in the church it would take a divine miracle or a chastisement for them to become great givers.

As a family man I always desire my children to have a legacy of giving beyond the regular tithes and missions offerings. By this they will develop the habit and hopefully a godly culture of generous giving for the temple needs. The same desire runs in my blood as your pastor. I realize that most of us never had such godly culture prior to salvation in Christ. If we believe in the culture of generosity of giving beyond the tithes and offerings then we must start it in ourselves, in our family and our relatives.

Practically, ministers and churches resort to external sources to sustain the work. Indigenous ministry is defeated. Servants wanting the church to be strengthened through the biblical indigenous method are disheartened. However, before we fully accept ministerial discouragement, we must first exhaust the word of the Lord in providing solutions to such lack. The passage provides prevention of a repeat of similar want in our local church if we diligently heed its truth. The passage teaches that God wants His people to prioritize and not to delay the needs of His temple. If we fail on it then He will surely show it in our economic life.

Prophet Haggai was God’s man of the hour. He was divinely tasked to preach the word of the Lord. He was chosen to encourage the disheartened workers of the temple who longed to see the temple rebuilt. He was assigned to rebuke the insensitive and indifferent Israelites towards finishing the temple building. I think his work must have been quite difficult. For 15 years the temple work ceased as ordered by law through the influence of oppositionists. The indifferent ones found justification in the cessation order for their sin of procrastination.

God judged the people’s neglect of the temple building work as untimely. While the temple building was unfinished they prioritized their houses. They returned from exile to rebuild the temple. God provided their needs through the trip from Babylon to Jerusalem. But, soon, they succumbed to the hardship of opposition and settled themselves in finished houses. What a great irony! The divine provisions were used on their residences instead of the construction of the temple. They used the permission to return for self enrichment.

God permitted them to have economic insufficiency. They invested so much time and resources for their agricultural businesses expecting to get good harvest. But the actual yield was almost nothing! They spared much for their basic necessities, i.e., food, clothing, and retirement yet after some time they did not get what they expected. How did these things happen? Probably, God influenced the harvest yield. Perhaps, He allowed natural causes to affect their life that the overall yield was meager! They did not notice that their resources were placed in unsafe and unyielding investments. In their human minds the efforts and investments were sound and certain. But by procrastination of the temple building work God caused their investments to fail.

God strongly urged His people to actively finish the temple building work. They needed to exert hard labor by going up the mountains to get the necessary materials. They needed to stop procrastination. They needed to finish the temple building work. They must stop the work in their houses and continue rebuilding the house of the Lord. This task would earn the pleasure of God. It was glorifying to Him. In the same manner, when God’s people prioritize the work of the Lord in the local church, He is honored. When we work to finish the church building where we assemble for the ministry, He is pleased. The beauty of the meeting place reflects the glory of the Lord. The degree of involvement and size of generosity of God’s people will always cause His name to be extolled.

Finally, God sent chastisement upon the people. This divine action was prompted by their indifference to finish the temple building work. The indifferent justified their inaction and procrastination with the hardship of the times. However, their economic hardship was a result of divine hindrance. God closed the windows of heaven to keep the blessings from them.

Some implication of this sin of procrastination is evident. First, as church people we are to prioritize the church building work and its ministries than our residences. For a Christian to get busy building his house while neglecting the needs of the local church to build its edifices for the ministry is grossly sinful. It is the plain relevant message of the prophet. If you find home at Haggai’s rebuke then you are exhorted to stop and start building up the church. Second, did Haggai build his house too? That would be unlikely as he would be found hypocritical. Imagine the great love and sacrifice of this servant of the Lord who found joy only in seeing the temple building rebuilt even if he had no permanent residence!

Third, we must realize that our livelihood now and in the future will always be affected by our attitude towards the priority of church needs. God greatly rewards faithful labor focused not on selfish interest but on the interest of the local church. May I forewarn you people of God to cease from the sin of procrastination! Stop delaying what you are prompted to bring into the local church building needs.

Finally, we must learn that as the church building is being built we need to get involved in generously providing for its materials. Our tithes and offerings, as another prophet spoke about it, are for the temple workers’ provisions. It is the Lord’s temple maintenance provisions. Since God has moved the heathen kings to provide for the temple building then God‘s people are highly expected to do greater than them.

As New Testament people of God, let us seriously consider the needs of the church building to finish it that God’s glory may be displayed. I believe, according to facts and history of Cornerstone’s giving attitude, we can finish this unfinished worship place if every member and partner will heed God’s call to Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified…. Only the sin of procrastination will keep us from finishing this church building.

As your pastor, at the parsonage I daily see the unfinished tasks. My heart trembles and longs to see the glory of God be displayed in our worship place! Not having much funds, I have asked Him to use me, like the prophet, to finish the church building of the Lord. I thanked God that He enabled us to help the missions work. But must we allow such noble task to keep the glory and the pleasure of God displayed among the people, the worshippers, and the observers? Would you join me in prayer, in partnership, and in prompting one another in this renewed zeal to finish the temple of the Lord? Amen!