(upbeat music) We are talking with our friend Trip Lee. Trip, in your new book Rise, you write this, quote, "To put it simply, procrastination is pride "because it assumes you know the future, "but we don't know when our health will decline "or our lives will end. "We don't even know for sure when life will get busier." End quote.

Knowing that our time is short helps to bring clarity to our daily priorities, of course, and it makes us diligent in those priorities. So explain how this relates to procrastination. Well, you know, I feel very experienced in writing about procrastination because that's been something that's been an issue for me of my lifetime.

Management was not a natural strength to me. And, you know, especially in my college years, time management and procrastination would pop up a lot and got really convicted me. When I say to myself over and over again, you know what, I'll do this later. I'm assuming that I'll have a later.

I'm assuming that I'll have the time to do that at some other time. And that's just knowledge that I don't really have. You know, it's just like what James says, and James too, when he says, "Come now, you who say today or tomorrow, "we will go into such and such a town "and spend a year there and trade and make profit.

"Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. "What is your life? "For you are missed. "It appears for little time and advantages. "Instead you ought to say, "if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." And I think one of the principles there is it's very proud to say with certainty that today or tomorrow, you'll do this or that.

And so then when we begin to think about procrastination, if I have a task that needs to be done, and I say, you know what, I'm gonna just do that later. I'm assuming that I have God's sovereign knowledge of all things, and that I'm definitely gonna be able to do that.

And so what that does for me is it helps me to think a lot more carefully about the way that I'm spending my time, that I wouldn't be so proud assuming that this time right now that I have belongs to me, when it really belongs to God, or assuming that I'll get to have more time later.

This becomes really clear with kids, where, you know, when I was single and unmarried, there was more chance of me always having time to do other things. But now that I have kids, it's like the Lord has given me a little illustration of reminder that you can't get time back.

And so you have to use the time that you have very, very carefully, even beyond just other things coming up. We don't know for sure that our life will be extended. And so, you know, the only thing that I know about is right now. The only moment I know that I'll have is the one I'm in right now.

And that has to change my approach to things. So for instance, when I meet a friend in my neighborhood, and I feel led to tell them about Jesus, and I think, man, I need to share the gospel with them. I can't just always assume I'll do that next week, I'll do that next year, because I just don't know that I'll get it next week or next year.

And I have to be faithful. The moment I know that I have to share the gospel with them is right now. And of course, there's balance to that. You know, it doesn't mean I have to hop out of the car every time I drive by somebody. But I do have to think carefully, God has given me this moment right now.

How can I use my right now to be faithful to him? And, you know, move forward and use every moment to be faithful instead of putting stuff off. - Amen, what a great word for us all, brother, thank you. And Tripoli's latest album and his new book are both titled Rise.

You can get them at Amazon.com right now. I quoted from the book earlier in the podcast. Well, Trip is a writer, and so of course he is a reader. And we get one more episode with Tripoli, and I wanna ask him what books have most impacted his life and his ministry.

That's tomorrow. I'm your host, Tony Reinhke. Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast with guest Tripoli. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)