Hedge or Highway? – Proverbs in Practice
“Everything is just so hard!” Former procrastinators, we felt that way in our old days. Back when we gave in to our natural bent to delay, we often felt behind, overwhelmed, defeated, and sorry for ourselves.
“I’d love to host that missionary overnight. But I can’t wash the sheets because I didn’t call the washer repair man. I can’t go to the laundromat because I told Johnny two weeks ago I’d look over his science project. It’s due tomorrow. That’s too bad. And the guy’s from Kenya which Johnny is studying.”
“The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.” Proverbs 15:19. ESV
“The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.” KJV
First, note the contrast between a sluggard and the upright. It is not upright to be a sluggard. Let’s be careful not to excuse slothfulness. (“Well, I’m pretty good otherwise. I’m growing in the Lord. If I’m late most of the time, He understands.”)
Next, we see the sluggard’s rough passage is brought on by his own decisions, by her action or inaction. It’s self-made entrapment.
Then we see that her path does not just include an occasional rut in the road. The sluggard’s actual path is like a thick barrier to work through. It’s a tangled mess of interwoven thorns that block progress. One thorny branch to pass by is enough to cause pain. Imagine working your way through a whole hedge of thorns!
Hebrews 12:1. “…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” There’s no running when your entire path is a hedge of thorns. KJV says lay aside “the sin which so easily besets us.” Procrastination used to be our besetting sin. It clung to us. According to Strong’s, it was thwarting us racers in every direction. No matter where we turned, we met the consequences of our delay. That’s a thorny hedge. More besets us when we procrastinate.
Oh, for a highway! “Plain” refers to a turnpike, raised up, a clear road through. When we do what needs doing when it needs doing, our path is straighter, simpler, easier.
The most helpful way for me to have a plain, clear road is not to presume. We contribute to a hedge of thorns when we presume we can do something later and come out fine. Danger! Only God is omniscient.
I’m stuck in a thorny hedge when I presume I will be able to do things later under positive conditions with positive results – but I have no control over later. When later comes, I can’t do what I want to do because I haven’t done what I was supposed to do.
What are you presuming you can do later under positive conditions with positive results?
