The Waste of Haste - Martin Wiles

Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. Proverbs 19:2 NLT

“Haste makes waste.”

I heard the saying as a youth from various people, but who knew it came from the Bible. Soon enough, I learned the truth of the quote.

As a young boy—and even as a teen—I spent a large amount of time with my paternal grandparents. My grandmother performed babysitting duties so Mom and Dad wouldn’t have to pay a daycare fee. And since Dad had begun college to study for the ministry, that helped out tremendously.

In addition to being a nurse’s aide, my grandmother sold Avon (in the day when they actually went to people’s house, rang the doorbell, and said “Avon’s calling”). I loved to ride in her ‘50 something Chevy. What time we weren’t doing that, I sat with her in the living room and watched her crochet.

My grandfather drove an ice cream truck, and I spent summers helping him. Hopping up in the refrigerated back to retrieve or load ice cream was just the ticket on hot, sultry days.

As I spent time with my grandparents, doing the various things I did, they told me many stories. Mostly family stories. Stories about them growing up and stories about my other relatives. I wish now I’d written more of them down because as I get older my capacity to remember fades.

Both of my grandparents are now gone—and so is my father. Mom’s memory is fading, and she often gets the stories mixed up.

I recall something my grandmother said to me when I was a young man in my 30s, trying to make my way in the world and staying too busy in the process: “You can’t burn the candle at both ends.” I neglected time with my grandparents during that time—and my grandmother was right. A bleeding ulcer let me know. Haste does make waste.

What I’ve discovered is that I only have time to do what God wants me to do. That means establishing priorities and learning to say, “No.” If I put too much on my plate, I’ll make haste and not do a good job at anything.

God has a plan for each of His children. When we follow it, we’ll enjoy life as we could not otherwise. And we won’t have to run around like chickens missing their heads because God doesn’t expect us to burn out doing His work.

Don’t let haste steal your joy in life.

Prayer: Father, give us the wisdom to do only those things that are in Your plan for us and to say, “No,” to those things that aren’t.

Tweetable: Are wasting because you're hasting? 

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