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| Relax, You've Got Time |
This is the time of year when presidents and CEOs gather with
their boards of directors to review the previous twelve months
and to set strategy on the year ahead. According to one
imaginative mind, the end of December is also the time that
the devil convenes his associates to assess how they have
been doing.
Last year, according to my source, the devil was not happy.
"Our numbers are way off," he said with a scowl. "We need to
figure a way to attract more people to hell." Then, turning
to his dark-cloaked assistants, he asked, "Do you have any
suggestions?"
One junior devil thought they might do better if they told
people there is no heaven. "No, we've tried that before, and
it doesn't work," Satan replied.
Another director suggested the opposite; tell people there
is no hell. But that idea was rejected also.
Then the devil's chief assistant spoke. He is reportedly as
wily as the old man himself. "If you want to get more people
into hell," he confided, "just whisper in their ears,
'Relax, you've got plenty of time to change your ways.
There's no hurry.'" And everyone in the room applauded.
Whatever your goals for the coming year--learning a new
skill, losing weight, exercising more, watching less TV,
finding a new job, becoming a volunteer, spending more
time with your kids, growing in spiritual matters--your
success will be determined by the strength of your
commitment. Go at anything halfheartedly, and you will
surely achieve a half-hearted harvest. Dedicate yourself
fully to an endeavor, be willing to sacrifice time,
money and effort, and you can expect to be rewarded in
kind. With God's help, we can do miraculous things. We
can even overcome our inclination toward procrastination
when a tempting voice whispers, "Relax, you've got
plenty of time. Wait until tomorrow to begin." |
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