“Quench not the Spirit.”–1 Thessalonians 5:19
Sometimes there are so many possible directions before us, and we have no idea which road to choose. That’s how I felt about this verse initially; then, I prayed for wisdom and clarity for the message I was to relay. As I wandered out to my backyard, I picked up the leaf blower to clear off my deck, and I pondered this verse and prayed. My natural tendency is to focus on all of the minor tasks I could be doing when I should really be prioritizing something else. And just like that, I knew what the writing focus should be for this verse: procrastination.
I recently attended a conference where the messages were bold and concise, and one of the speakers briefly elaborated on four primary types of procrastinators. The first type is focused on performance; everything has to be in order before he can begin a task. The second undermines himself–puts himself down; he speaks self-deprecation and even believes himself incapable of the task. The third type keeps himself so busy that there is no time for the postponed task. The fourth type of procrastinator focuses too much on novelty and may start tasks, but typically stops and is infatuated with new ideas more than the enticement of finishing one he has already started. I am personally guilty of all of these types, and because I tend to enjoy variety, I change up my mode of procrastination, sometimes hourly. I am not proud of this.
Now, back to the verse at hand: quench not the Spirit. When we hear the word quench in modern conversation, we usually think of quenching thirst–satisfying a longing for a drink particularly on a hot day. The second and less-commonly used definition refers to putting out a fire. The Holy Spirit resides within each of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior, and He is a fiery being, in the most symbolic sense of the word. When we are moved by God to take action, set on fire so to speak, and we choose to procrastinate instead, then we are quenching the Spirit–precisely what this verse commands us not to do.
Besides my own struggles with procrastination, I also think of Jonah and his very demonstrative choice to literally disobey God when God told him to go speak to the people of Nineveh. I have avoided my own personal Ninevehs all too often in my life. I remember hearing older folks in the Church when I was growing up say, “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” Back then, I thought it was just a saying with a nice alliterative ring to it designed to get kids moving in the right direction; now, I understand it all too well. Procrastination is disobedience, and I am convicted to keep moving even as I write this!