Undisciplined | Part 2 | Tardiness
We are in 1st Samuel 13 and of course tonight we are in a series called undisciplined. We’re looking at these different areas where people tend to be a little undisciplined. Last week we looked at laziness. This week we’re looking at the subject of or studying and looking at the subject of tardiness or being late in the Bible. Over the next several weeks, as we continue through the series, we’re going to talk about being undisciplined with our words. We’re going to talk about gluttony. We’re going to talk about all sorts of things that have to do with being undisciplined. But tonight I want to speak to you on the subject of tardiness or being late. And when we talk about being late, the most well-known story is in 1st Samuel 13 where Samuel is later. Samuel is a good guy but this is an interesting story of him being late.
1st Samuel 13:5 “5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.”. Of course we have Saul here. His enemies are preparing to go to battle against him and they are gathering 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen. Notice verse 6. “6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait,…”. The word straight means in a narrow or limited passage or space. “6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
“7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.”. Now the last thing you want when you are going to battle is to be trembling. This is a bad situation that Saul finds himself in. His enemies are preparing against him. His soldiers themselves are fearful and Saul felt like he was wasting his time because not only were the enemies gathering, not only were his soldiers fearful, but his prophet was late. 1st Samuel 13:8 “8 And he tarried seven days,…”. The idea here is him taking longer than intended. “8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.”. The idea is that Samuel the Prophet was supposed to come and meet Saul and he was supposed to help the people, bless, pray, guide and encourage them. But Samuel is late to the meeting. In fact, he’s seven days late. The Bible says that Saul tarried seven days.
So what does Paul do? He decides not to wait for Samuel and he did something he should not have done. He did something that only Samuel should have done. Notice verse 9 “9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.”. See, Samuel was supposed to show up offer this burnt sacrifice in order to bless the people. But because Samuel was late, Saul decided to do it himself. The problem is that the Bible, the word of God, forbade anybody but the Levites and for the prophet to do this.
I love how the Bible is written because it’s so true to human nature. Notice this. “10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came;…”. Isn’t this the way it always works? As a kid growing up, you’re not supposed to do something, your parents aren’t home, you’ve been debating it this whole time and as soon as you decide to do it, your mom walks through the door. Right when Saul makes this decision, then comes Samuel. “10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.”. And of course we see that Samuel was the one that was late. But I do want you to notice that Saul is a very undisciplined man.
Notice what he does instead of taking responsibility for his actions and taking the consequences for his action. He begins to make all sorts of excuses. He begins to blame everybody but himself. Look at verse 11. “11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said,…”. Excuse #1 “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me,”. Excuse #2 “and that thou camest not within the days appointed,”. Excuse #3 “and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.”. King Saul makes it sound like he had no other choice when in reality he had plenty of choices. He blames everyone but himself. And we see that Samuel was late.
Now some of you are a little confused because you’re saying “I thought you were preaching about how it’s wrong to be late.”. And I am preaching about that tonight. I’m preaching on the sin of tardiness and the sin of being late. In the story we have the most famous story of somebody being late and it’s the prophet Samuel and Samuel is the good guy. I want to begin tonight by just giving you a couple of things just by way of introduction that we can learn from the story of Samuel in regards to being late. Before I get into all the negative aspects about being late, let me just say a couple things. First of all, sometimes you’re going to be late. It’s unavoidable sometimes. Even if you are a very punctual person who tends to be early everywhere, sometimes you will be late. You might get in to an accident, have a flat tire or something else unavoidable. So I don’t want you to think that every time someone is late that they are in sin, undisciplined or not right with God. The truth of the matter is that sometimes you’re just going to be late. Sometimes your flight’s going to get canceled, your flight’s going to get delayed, your flight’s going to get rearranged, there will be unexpected traffic or unexpected emergencies. Things like this happen every once in a while. We need to understand that punctual people will be late from time to time.
Samuel was a good man. The Bible tells us that he traveled a lot. The Bible tells us that he had a circuit in which he would go and meet with people and perform sacrifices and minister unto the children of Israel. The Bible doesn’t tell us here why he was late but I’m sure it was a legitimate reason why he was late. Obviously, he’s going into a battlefield. There may have been a reason why he was not able to get there when he intended to get there. And I want to begin by just saying that sometimes you’re going to be late and that is ok once in a while. Sometimes something will happen out of your control and you won’t be able to make the appointed time. However, this should be a rare event.
There is a huge difference between the person who is normally punctual but is late on rare occasions vs. the person who is usually late. There are people who aren’t just late on rare occasions but are habitually and chronically late. I’m sure that most of us either have a family member like this or maybe a coworker who is just always late. There are people that you can just count on them being late. You tell everybody else that the event starts at seven but you tell this person it starts at five so that maybe they’ll make it at 7:15. There are people that you would bet on being late for events. That is completely different than just being late from time to time.
Tonight I’m preaching on the sin of tardiness. I’m not preaching about the person who is late on rare occasions for unexpected circumstances. I’m preaching about the people who are habitually late. Sometimes it isn’t easy to notice are own problems. But you have to be willing to look at the mirror and notice your problems. Now let me say this, regardless of who you are, we can all benefit from a sermon like this. We can all have the tendency to be lack discipline from time to time and especially young people. Young children and young teenagers are right now forming the habits that are going to be the character of their life. And you ought to listen tonight as we talk about this idea of being late.
So one thing we can learn from the story of Samuel is that sometimes you’re going to be late. Here’s another thing that you can learn from the story of Samuel. And I want you guys to hear this, especially you men. One thing we can learn from Samuel is that sometimes you’re going to be late. There’s no way to get around it. Samuel was a very responsible and successful man. I’m sure his tardiness was not out of his control. It was a legitimate reason and sometimes it’s going to happen.
Here’s another thing that we can learn from the story of Samuel. When the boss is late, that’s none of your business. You just worry about yourself. You don’t need to know why Samuel was late. Samuel is the guy in charge. You say “But Saul was the King.”. He may have been the King but in a spiritual sense, Samuel was the one running the show. He was the one that was supposed to do the sacrifice. Let me just help you out with something, you make sure you’re on time to work and if your boss is late don’t worry about it. You weren’t around when the boss started the business by getting up at five in the morning, working long hours. You’re not around when he’s there late at night. You’re not around when he’s there early in the morning. You’re not around when he’s working on your day off. So make sure that your character is a character of punctuality and make sure that you understand your place when it comes to your boss. Saul should have just waited for Samuel. Samuel was late but that was between him and God. I want our Church to be a punctual church but don’t get this prideful attitude. If the boss is late, that is none of your business. Realize that he is working on your days off. He’s the one who started the business, got it going and the reason why you are employed. Let him do whatever he wants.
Let me give you 3 reasons why we don’t want to be chronically or habitually late. Number one, being late is inconsiderate of other people’s time. You say “Why don’t I want to be late? What’s the big deal with being late?”. Here’s what’s wrong with being late. It’s inconsiderate of other people. It’s inconsiderate of other people’s time. Philippians 2:3 “3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”. The Bible teaches that we should esteem other better than ourselves which means that we should consider and think about other people. The Bible says that we should esteem and consider other people. Being late is inconsiderate of other people’s time. See, people who are chronically late are not thinking about others. They’re not concerned with others. They’re not concerned with the fact that other people got ready and got to the event at the time they were supposed to and now they’re having to wait on you because you aren’t thinking of them. They’re not considerate of the fact that other people had to move around their schedules. Other people had to start getting ready and had to start driving and had to get there. They’re not considerate of the fact that other people have taken the time to be where they said they were going to be. You say what is wrong with being late? It’s rude. It’s inconsiderate of other people’s times. And as Christians, we’re commanded to esteem other better than ourselves. We’re commanded to be considerate of other people.
Notice verse 4 “4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”. See, people who are chronically late are not thinking of others. So who are they thinking about? They are thinking about themselves. People who are chronically late are self-absorbed. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. I’m just telling you the truth. Speaking the truth in love. If you are habitually late then you are selfish. It shows that you are self-absorbed. Here’s what it says about you. You only think about yourself. You aren’t thinking about anybody else’s time or esteeming others better than yourself. What’s going on in their life doesn’t even come into your mind or consideration. You say what is wrong with being late? It isn’t considerate of other people’s time.
I remember when I was growing up, my brother and I would get picked up to go to Christian school. The principal of the school lived down the street from our house. This was a private Christian school. Our father had arranged with the principal for us to get a ride to school every morning. He literally drove by our house every day on his way to school. He would come down the main street and then he would come down our house. We were around 3 houses down the street. If he wasn’t picking us up, he’d normally just keep going. But if he had to pick us up, he’d come down this street about two houses down to meet us. And we had this plan that he was going to pick us up at a certain time every day and my brother and I were out there with our backpacks right in front of the house. I don’t know for how long we did it.
But then my parents figured out what was happening and I remember them sitting us down and having a conversation with us. I remember being a young kid and my parents sitting us down and my dad saying “This is a grown man. This is a successful man and he is taking time to help you. He is esteeming you better than himself. He’s taking the time. He doesn’t have to pick you up. He’s choosing to be a blessing to our family and pick you up. How about instead of you sitting there with your lazy self in your backpack waiting for him to come down the street, how about you meet him at the main road. How about you walk 30 yards or 30 feet down to the corner so he doesn’t have to pull into the parking lot, back up and come back out.”. My parents told me that we need to be as little of an inconvenience to him as possible. You say why would your parents teach you that? In order to be considerate of others, to realize that other people’s time matters to them. For us to sit there and waste their time is rude.
What’s wrong with being late? It’s inconsiderate of other people’s time. You have to consider the fact that time is valuable. Wasting other people’s time is rude. What’s wrong with being late? Well number one, being late isn’t considerate of other people’s time. What is amazing to me is that someone will pick people up, they are doing a favor to pick you up, but they have to pull up and knock on the door and wait for you. That’s ridiculous. Somebody’s doing you a favor to pick you up. You be ready. Be out there waiting for them, try not to waste their time, be considerate of other people. You say “Pastor, why are you preaching this?”. Because I’ve got to preach to you the things your parents failed to teach you. I have to try to help you out. Being late is inconsiderate of other people’s time.
Number two, being late is irritating to productive people. Not only is being late inconsiderate of other people’s time but being late is irritating to productive people. Who’s ever heard of a “Type A” personality? Raise your hand if you are a “Type A” personality. What’s a “Type A” personality? It’s the type of person that are driven and hard charging. They’re usually attention oriented and they just want things done right. There’s not a lot of grace for people not getting things done the right way. Let me say this, you may not be a “Type A” personality and I understand that but you need to understand this. Most of your bosses, CEOs, Pastors, supervisors are “Type A” personalities. It usually comes with the territory of being a leader. It’s usually “Type A” personalities that start businesses, start churches, are results driven people. Just realize this because maybe you are going through life in your own world without realize how inconsiderate you are being with your time.
In 2nd Samuel 19 we have the 2nd most famous story of being late. This is the story of Amasa and Joab. You should be familiar if you read the Bible with a character named Joab. He was the captain of the host for David. He was the general of the army. And whatever you think about Joab or say about Joab, you have to know that he was productive. He got things done. He didn’t always do it the right way and that’s often a problem with “Type A” personalities. He didn’t always do it the right way but he got it done. David is replacing Joab with this new general Amasa. 2nd Samuel 19:13 “13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.”. The captain of the host is basically what we call a general today. Here David is replacing Joab with Amasa. Now I want you to notice when Amasa becomes the captain of the host, he gets promoted to this position of leadership. He’s been given a place of leadership. He’s given a task by David.
2nd Samuel 20:4 “4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.”. This is a new general. He just got promoted to general. He is given a time frame of when to show up of 3 days. Verse five “5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.”. What does that mean? He was late. I want you to notice that Joab with that “Type A” personality doesn’t take too kindly to Amasa being tardy.
Verse 8 “8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.”. Joab kills Amasa because Amasa was late. Now of course part of this is that Joab isn’t happy about being replaced by Amasa. We understand that. But I want you to notice what the Bible emphasizes. He kills him for being tardy and undisciplined. When you first get promoted or get a new job, you better make sure you get it right at the beginning. Here Amasa didn’t get it done.
Notice the last part of verse 10. “So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.”. Look down at verse 14 “14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.”. Notice that Joab kills Amasa but then does what Amasa was supposed to do. This is why your boss, parents, etc…are angry with you. Now I’m not saying that Joab should have killed Amasa. But I’m just trying to help you understand that being chronically late is irritating to productive people. At this Church, we are trying to accomplish something. We need to take things seriously. You strolling in late with your Starbucks to work is irritating. Productive people find it annoying when people are chronically and habitually late.
What is the problem with being late? Number 1, because being late is inconsiderate of other people’s time. Number two, because being late is irritating to productive people. Let me give you a 3rd reason. Being late is irresponsible with your personal time. God has given you a gift every day. It’s called time. Time has value. Anything with limited amount has value. That’s why gold and silver are more valuable than dirt.
Ephesians 5:15 “15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”. Circumspectly means cautiously, purposefully. It means you step on purpose. You’re headed in a direction. It’s not random but you’ve taken a lot of time to think about each step. Verse 16 “16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”. The word redeem has a financial idea. The idea is that something’s being purchased. The idea is that something has value. Have you ever heard that time is money? It’s true. That’s why you get paid to go to work. Someone’s paying you for your time. Here the Bible tells us that wise people value time. Wise people realize that there’s value to time, that time is expensive, that time is valuable, that we should redeem it and not waste it.
Colossians 4:5 “ 5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”. What does it mean? It means that you see time as a precious commodity. It means that you realize that there’s value to time and that we should not waste time. Let me explain something to you. Being late is irresponsible with your personal time because wise people understand that there is value to time. Look at the contrast with Ephesians 5:15. In Ephesians 5:15 it talks about the fool and they don’t value time. But the wise person redeems the time. Foolish people waste their time. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings but if you’re a grown man and you’re spending hours upon hours playing video games, you’re a fool. If you’re a mom and you’ve been tasked by Almighty God to raise children for the glory of God and you’re wasting your days on Facebook or Instagram or social media doing nothing, you’re a fool. Foolish people waste time. Wise people value time. Foolish people don’t see the value in time. Foolish people don’t understand that there’s value to time. See, punctuality or the lack of it communicates something about you. When you’re constantly, habitually late, people think you are a fool. You’re wasting your time.
See, punctuality indicates something about you. It indicates competence when you are on time. It shows that you try to be in control of your life instead of allowing circumstances to prevent you from doing the things you want to do. When you are somebody who’s punctual, what that communicates to other people is that this is a wise and competent person. Obviously even with punctual people, there will be times you are late for unforeseen circumstances. We’re all going to be late from time to time. Sometimes we just don’t have any control over what happens. But when you’re constantly and habitually late, when people can count on you being late, everybody else is thinking there’s a fool. Here is someone who is not competent. Here is someone who lacks punctuality. I’m not saying this is right but the “Type A” person will think you are incredibly incompetent. They will think that you can’t read a watch.
Punctuality indicates competence. Punctuality also indicates dependability. In a society where promises are often broken and commitments frequently ignored, people appreciate those who stick to their word. Dependable people earn respect from friends and family. Employers value those who arrive on time for work and meet deadlines. Dependable workers may even be rewarded with a higher salary and greater trust. Lack of punctuality communicates you’re not dependable, you’re incompetent, you can’t be trusted.
In the military, punctuality is really important. When I was in the Air Force, we were told that if you’re not 15 minutes early, you are late. If you’re not sitting in the waiting place 15 minutes before that, you’re late. I remember having a fellow airman who couldn’t figure out how to get on time. The sergeants asked me to come alongside this young man and try to help him. And as I sat down and started talking to this individual, I became aware of the fact that the reason they could not show up to work on time is because they were staying up playing video games all night long. This guy showed up late over and over to the point where they were going to kick him out, discharge him from the military. I’m not sure if you know how the military works but when it comes to the military, if you’re going to be discharged then you need an honorable discharge. You don’t want a dishonorable discharge. If you don’t have a medical discharge or honorable discharge then that will haunt you the reset of your life.
I remember being 16 years old working at a Subway and a 19-year-old walked in who had a dishonorable discharge from the army and he couldn’t get hired at Subway. I remember talking to this young guy and saying you’re going to get kicked out of the military because you can’t show up on time to work. It was all because of playing video games. If he gets a dishonorable discharge then he won’t be able to get a job anywhere. I’ve known grown men that had good jobs supporting their families who got fired because they couldn’t show up on time. Punctuality or lack of it tells other people you’re competent or incompetent, dependable or undependable, wise or a fool. Being late isn’t considering other people’s time. It shows that you’re self-absorbed, only thinking about yourself. Being late is irritating to productive people. Productive people want to get something done. They value time. Being lazy is irresponsible with your personal time. Wise people value time. Foolish people waste time.
Let me just talk to you a little while about how this relates to our church and church structure. I don’t know if you noticed but at Verity Baptist Church, we value organization, structure, timeliness. The Bible says “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; “. I believe that if we’re going to do something, let’s do it right. If we’re going to be somewhere then let’s be there on time. If we’re going to put our energy into something, let’s put our energy into it. When you show up late for church, that hurts you. Why? Because you don’t get to fellowship with other believers.
Proverbs 27:17 “17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”. You may not realize it but the Bible actually teaches that one of the forms of discipleship is fellowship. One of the ways every week I pray for our church and my wife prays for this church is that God would allow our church to grow spiritually. And as I pray that our church would grow spiritually, I pray that the Lord would allow our church to grow spiritually that the preaching of his word would help you to grow spiritually and that the fellowship with other believers would help you to grow spiritually. How does fellowship help you grow spiritually? Number 1, iron sharpeneth iron. Number 2, you’ll start to be like the people you hang out with. Birds of a feather flock together. Some people come to church but avoid showing up for the fellowship. That is harming you. That’s hurting you. That doesn’t help you grow in the Lord. It hurts you when you are late to Church.
But let me just say this, it also hurts us. Just in case you don’t care about yourself, maybe you’d care about the rest of us. It hurts us. How does it hurt us? Number 1, we need to fellowship with you. When you don’t fellowship with us, that doesn’t just hurt you. That hurts me. That hurts the rest of us because we need to fellowship with you. But let me explain this in a practical way that should make sense. It hurts the impression that we make on the guests who show up to church when you’re late. Let me give you an example. Every week we count the attendance. Brother Jose is the one who usually takes care of that task. As soon as he gets the numbers, he starts texting me. He will text me the initial number but will text me later as more people show up. H
Here is an example from Sunday – May 30th. At 10:35 (5 minutes after church starts), I get a text from him that we have 200 in attendance. At 10:36, he says 203. At 10:37, he says 204. 10:38 he says 206. 10:41 he says 211. 10:42 he says 212. 10:51 he says 223. 10:58 he says 229. 11:10 he sends me the final updated number of 231. Now of course I’m happy for everyone who came. But I want you to notice that when the service actually started, we had 31 less people than we had later in the service. Why does that matter? It hurts the impression that we make on guests. When guests show up to a half-filled church, the initial reaction from people is that church must not be that great. Same thing as if you walked into a restaurant. Galatians 2:9 says that we should give the right hand of fellowship.
Acts 2:42 “42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”. The doctrine is my job from the preaching but the fellowship is your job. If you want people to like our church and come back, I’ll do my best to preach sermons that are practical and applicable and that connect with their hearts and that help them grow. And then you can help me make sure they feel welcomed. Studies show that the average guest decides whether they like a church within the first 7 minutes of interaction at that church. They already decide if it is friendly or not friends. The average visitor shows up 5 minutes before the service according to studies. This means that the average person decides by 10:32 am if they like our church. If you walk in at 10:35 or 10:45, that doesn’t help us make a good impression. Being late to church not only hurts you but also hurts us. Just being punctual, taking time responsibly leaves a good impression.
Let me just by way of conclusion help give you ways that you can become a punctual person. Now look, if you are the habitually late person here today, I am not mad at you. I’m not paying attention to the specific time that everybody shows up. Brother Jose doesn’t text me who shows up late. He just texts me the number when it changes for attendance. But the thing is that I care about you. I don’t want you to get fired from your job. I don’t want you to miss out on the blessings of developing friendships within church.
Let me help you with how to be a habitually punctual person. Proverbs 24:27 “27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.”. This is a proverb about preparation. The idea here is about a worker who’s going to go to work. And the proverb is telling them that before you get to the job site, prepare your work without. Make sure that you have the tools you need, the things you need, make it fit for myself in the field and afterward build thine house. Don’t just show up somewhere without being prepared. The same concept works with punctuality. You should prepare to be punctual. You say what does that mean? Here’s what it means. You figure out when you need to be somewhere and give yourself 15 minutes of leeway. You make a decision to esteem others better than yourself. Strive to be a punctual person.
Now for those of you who are always punctual, this might feel like a 3rd grade lesson. I travel a lot for work. When my flight leaves at 9:45 am, I realize I need to be at the airport at 8:15 am. It takes 20 minutes to ride the shuttle from the car rental place to the airport so that means that I need to be leaving the car rental place at 7:55 am. It takes 15 minutes to drop off the car so I need to get there at 7:40 am. It takes 25 minutes to get from my hotel to the car rental place so I need to be leaving the hotel at 7:15 am. It takes me 25 minutes to eat breakfast so I need to leave my hotel room at 6:50 am. It takes me 35 minutes to pack and get ready so I have to do that at 6:15 am. I like to give myself a 15 minute buffer so I try to start at 6:00 am. That’s how punctual people think. That’s how people that are habitually on time to places don’t miss their flights, don’t miss appointments, don’t get fired for being late. That’s how they think.
Church on Sunday mornings is always at 10:30 am, always at 6:00 pm on Sunday nights, always at 7:00 pm on Wednesday nights. Just like at your job, you probably start at the same time every day. There’s probably the same amount of traffic every day at that time that you’re going to work. You say, “There was traffic.”. But there is always traffic. How do you account for the fact that there’s traffic every day? If there’s traffic every day, this isn’t rocket science. You need to figure out how much it will take in the traffic each day. Then work backwards from that time to everything you need to do to figure out what time you need to do everything. Being late is inconsiderate of other people. Being late is irritating to productive people. Being late is irresponsible with my personal time.
1st Corinthians 14:40 “40 Let all things be done decently and in order.”. The Bible says that our lives should be structured in such a way that it is in order. It should be structured in such a way where people can count and depend on us. Then people will say, “Here is a competent young man, a competent young lady, a dependable person, I can depend on them.”. Then people realize that if they aren’t there, there must be a legitimate reason because they’re always on time. The testimony of your life and my life is that we are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ upon this earth. The testimony of our lives should be that everything is done decently and in order. Part of that requires that we be on time.
Let’s pray.