The Early Bird Gets the Worm!

“The early bird gets the worm.” We have all heard this proverb at one point in our lives. Maybe we heard it as a child as our parents woke us up for an early start to a new day! But what is the true meaning behind this proverb? It is trying to tell us that the one who is eager enough to get somewhere or something done first and not drag their feet, will be successful. How many times have we put off important problems in our lives, as if ignoring them will make them go away? I know I have! They don’t go away though. In fact, they get much worse. But what is the big deal? Well we live in a society that would look at this proverb scoff and say “the early bird may get the worm, but the late bird gets to sleep in.” We have become a lazy and dysfunctional bunch of people because of this mentality. We must not lazily push our problems aside, dragging our feet, but instead fix them as soon as possible.

 When thinking about this idea of not procrastinating but getting important things done immediately, I can’t help but think of a situation that takes place in the book of Joshua. In Joshua 7:5ff, we read that Joshua and the nation of Israel are being subdued by their enemies. After the realization that his people are being defeated by the Amorites, Joshua wants to know why God is not leading them into victory. God responds that Israel will no longer win battles because of an individual that disobeyed His covenant. He goes on to explain that He will no longer be with them until the problem is fixed (Ch.7:12). So after hearing the bad news, what does Joshua do? We are told that he “arose early in the morning” to fix the problem immediately.

 We must follow the example of Joshua and confront our problems head on, not pushing them aside. Imagine if Joshua would have waited any longer to deal with his problems. The consequences of that would have fell upon not just him, but the whole nation of Israel. When we push aside important problems in our lives, who/what is effected by those bad choices? Ourselves? Our family? Our soul? Let us strive to have the “get it done” mentality that Joshua had.