Hezekiah 3:21 (LHV) "Foolish are those who waste time, wander aimlessly or those who fail to make decisions."
Astute bible scholars will tell you that there is no such passage in the bible! It's true that the Book of Hezekiah does not exist, but does the thought?
Dilly-dallying in fact are those who waste time, are aimless and indecisive. Let's look at real scripture:
Proverbs 24:30-34 (ESV)
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
A sluggard is one who dilly-dallies! A sluggard is a layabout do-nothing underachiever! Solomon says he's a "man lacking sense". Poverty is a consequence of dilly-dallying!
Matthew 10:38 (ESV) "And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."
"Take his cross" is an action as is "follow me". We're to be people who energetically endeavor to do as Jesus would have us do! That's" taking up his cross". Bearing the cross is not the concept of carrying a burden or heavy load. The cross is a symbol of pain and death. Taking up the cross is a firm commitment. It's a willingness to die for the belief in Christ. We all say that we will, but will we? Many have. They are martyrs! All the apostles, save John, were martyred for taking up the cross of Jesus. Did they dilly-dally? No, they were willing workers, committed and dedicated followers of Christ. They left all they had and went with Jesus!
Right now people throughout the world are being imprisoned, tortured and killed for taking up the cross of Jesus. They are not dilly-dalliers. Right now more people than ever are suffering for carrying the cross of Jesus, yet right here in the good ole' USA, people dilly-dally. We can bear the cross with little opposition, yet the cross is too cumbersome. We are sluggards. Not only do those who are wondering aimlessly failing to accept Jesus, but they immerse themselves in pleasure so that they don't think about the inevitable!
"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes".—Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789.
Ben was wrong. Judgment is certain. Eternity is certain. God is certain. Why do we not entertain the idea that death is inevitable and there are two choices: eternal punishment or eternal life. Those who dilly-dally about eternity are just like those who drowned as the Titanic went down believing themselves to be safe and secure. This earth is a type of Titanic! People are partying, dancing, eating and drinking without a thought of sinking, but those who don't dilly-dally recognize the signs of the times. We don't know when planet earth will sink, but it's slowly submerging. It's sinking so slowly that few detect the danger. If we party enough we don't have to think about the inevitable. We can dilly-dally our way to eternal destruction! Here's the choices God gives:
Matthew 25:46 (ESV) "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Some want to believe in the Paradise of Heaven, but shun the idea of Hell. Regardless of what you believe hell to be, it is eternal punishment! Of course it's called a "lake of fire". The rich man begged for a drop of water to ease his thirst. That doesn't sound rewarding to me, but those who dilly-dallying have by default, selected eternal punishment and the lake of fire.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
There's those two choices again. perish or everlasting life. Since this verse parallels Matthew 10:38 then "taking up the cross" is identical to accepting that "God...gave his only begotten son"! "Choices" implies aiming, not wondering aimlessly. We are to aim our hearts toward taking up the cross of Jesus, not half the cross, but the whole cross. We accept that Jesus died for us so that we don;t have to die! Just as Simon did, we must also take up that cross:
Matthew 27:32 "And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Simon was forced to take up the cross. I'm not sure he got any points with Jesus, but he was afraid of a penalty from the Roman soldiers. I bet he didn't dilly-dally. He stepped right up and took the cross. He had choices too! He could have got lashes or even death, or he could do what was right. He chose life!
We too have the same choice Simon had. However, our choice is even more profound. Whereas he would be punished by death in the flesh, our punishment would be living tormented flesh, but eternal spiritual death! Simon made a wise choice! What's yours? Don't dilly-dally yourself into hell. No warm-up, improvement or change is required. As the song says "Just as I am"! Those to whom God forgives the most will love him the most! Preparation for salvation isn't a requirement. Preparation is procrastination. Hell is full of dilly dalliers. Heaven has none!
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