Haste Makes Waste

Who among us has not experienced the consequences of an impulsive, hasty action?

In recent weeks the Lord began to show me that I tend to be too hasty in taking action on some things, not thinking things through with deliberation or getting advice before I act.  I was dismayed when I realized it.  I began to notice this subtle pattern in my life – not just one, two or three, but in a number of things in the last 2 weeks.   I thank the Lord that He’s brought this to my attention so I could turn to His Word and be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There were a few times in the process of writing my first book where I was hasty.  One such a time was when I didn’t take time to read the manuscript (for the tenth time, it seemed) slowly and deliberately, and it cost me lots of money with the publisher to go back and fix it later. 

Have you made a hasty promise to somebody, including God, and then didn’t keep your word?

Maybe you regret that impulsive e-mail or Face book comment.  You can’t erase what you’ve written.  

Perhaps hasty, thoughtless words blurted in anger strained a relationship or cost you a friendship.  You can’t suck your words back into your mouth.  The ear that heard them can’t just forget them.  Words can minister life or death.   

Then there’s hasty, impulsive buying.  Whether it’s clothes, shoes, gadgets, groceries, a car, a house or any number of things, when we don’t guard our thinking process, we live to regret impulsive buying.   

Oh yes, eating – did I mention eating?  Yes, hasty eating, not thinking about the choices we’re making, is a bad habit.  The results speak for themselves. 

Or maybe you’ve made a hasty business decision you regret, such as co-signing a note for somebody, or going into a business.  Signing with the wrong company, you ended up in a financial hole.

Maybe you’ve hurried to cut up vegetables for dinner and ended up cutting your finger.  Then you had to clean your hand and bandage it before you could resume meal preparation.  The time you tried to save by hurrying ended up hurting you physically (and costing you more time.) 

Any speeders out there?  If you’re always in a hurry, have the “pedal to the metal,” you will likely end up paying a stiff fine, having your license revoked, or landing in jail.  Maybe all three.

Haste makes waste!  That waste includes embarrassment, loss of respect, loss of friendships, strained relationships, troubled finances, physical pain and wasted time.  God’s Word is wisdom for us if we take the time to read and obey it.  I’ve found that the Word of God gets us back on track; reading it and taking it into our hearts changes us.  In light of that truth, here are Proverbs on being hasty:

Proverbs 14:29 (NKJ) “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.”

Proverbs 19:2 (NIV) “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.”

Proverbs 21:5 (NIV) “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

Proverbs 28:20 (NKJ) “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 29:20 (NIV) “Do you see a man who speaks in haste?  There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

Ecclesiastes 5:2 (NIV) “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”

James 1:19 says everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Can God redeem those “hasties” in our lives?  Yes, He can bring something good out of our mistakes if we obey Him.  You have to go back to those you hurt and make amends, stop impulsive buying, eat right, and slow down.  Joy awaits you through applying wisdom from the Scriptures.

So – look before you leap; think before you speak.  God bless you, dear reader!

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy