or more aptly titled: my struggle to follow Jesus

If you are currently unfamiliar with the phrase “stay the course,” you can check it out here. But I would imagine that you already have some idea what it means. However, if you don’t you could probably figure it out with a little effort, but most likely you’ll take the course of action that most do and simply click the link.

Hard work may pay off later, but laziness pays off now.

Stay the course…

I’ve used phrase a lot lately.

It interests me though, that this simple three word phrase (were I to actually follow it) could change my life.

There are innumerable times I’ve set a plan in motion to change something (be it about myself, a situation, or otherwise), only to give in when the going got tough (or when I got bored).

Hard work may pay off later, but laziness pays off now.

And laziness feels good now. But that’s pretty much the only time it feels good.

See, rarely is a problem actually a problem because I didn’t know what to do (or was simply unaware of a solution). Usually the problem is a problem because I chose to leave the plan of action that would bring about a solution. And that was most likely because I got tired of waiting for results. I was impatient, or tired, or scared, or something else… so I gave in.

But were I to “stay the course,” the benefits would far outweigh the immediate results I received from that instant gratification.

Example:

Problem = I would really like to get in shape…

Solution = Run, Workout…

Action = Eat ice cream… Yummy!

But therein lies the problem. The problem isn’t really the problem. The problem is the action I choose to take. If for just a few consecutive days I were to actually make an attempt at exercise, it might become a habit. And if exercise became a habit, I might actually be able to solve my problem. But…

Hard work may pay off later, but laziness pays off now.

I could go on, list more examples, but I’m fairly certain you get the idea.

Laziness may pay off now, and hard work may be hard (that’s why it’s called “hard” work), but two years, two days, or two minutes down the road laziness totally sucks.

Stay the course.