Slack

Joshua 18:3
“And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?”

A person is always slack in what they do before they ever become a slacker. If you don’t want to become known as a slacker in life, you would be wise not to be slack with everything you do. Joshua warned Israel about being slack when he asked, “How long are ye slack to go to possess the land…?” Joshua understood that God has already given them the land, but they were procrastinating in going to possess it. The fact that possessing the land was going to take work and battles was probably the reason they were putting everything off. They wanted to enjoy ease instead of being diligent in their efforts to possess what God has already given them.

You will never become much in life if you are slack in all that you do. The word “slack” means loose, negligent, careless, casual, inattentive, stagnant, disorderly, inefficient, and relaxed. In other words, being slack is being passive about life. You are bound to become a slacker if you are careless about details and with your present situation in life. There are several things you can do to avoid being slack.

First, give attention to everything. I am amazed at how many people don’t give attention to details. It is often the little things that you let go that become the big headaches in life. You must pay attention to every detail if you don’t want to become a slacker in your life. If what you are doing is worth doing, then every detail of that task or activity is worthy of your attention.

Second, give your whole effort to all that you do. Passivity is a dream and vision killer. The difference between good and excellence is those who attain excellence are not slack in their efforts. You can’t be passive in life’s ambitions and expect to attain the great success that comes from giving your whole effort. The fact that you are passive about what you are doing shows that you don’t think what you are doing is important. You will always give a full effort to those things that you consider important. If you want to get further in life than where you are, don’t be passive about your situation, but be determined to give your whole effort to rise above your present situation.

Third, don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today. Many people keep saying they will do something tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes. The best time to take ownership of bettering your situation is now. Tomorrow is the excuse that screams that you are lazy. You will never achieve God’s vision for your life if you put the hard things off to tomorrow. Today is the day to take care of what you need to do—waiting until tomorrow only makes today’s problems greater. It is easier to immediately care for today’s responsibilities than it is to add to tomorrow’s responsibilities. You can avoid being overwhelmed and get further in life if you stop putting off the hard things until tomorrow.

Fourth, never let difficulties stop you from possessing your faith vision. My friend, obstacles will always stand between you and what God wants for you. If everything were easy, it would not be enjoyable once you obtained it. The fact that you overcame is part of the enjoyment of success. Don’t be slack in facing difficulties. Life is going to be difficult whether you are slack or diligent; so, you might as well overcome your difficulties now so that you obtain God’s vision for your life.

Author: Allen Domelle