Delayed Gratification

The Hard Work of Becoming Spiritually, Emotionally and Physically Healthy
Delayed Gratification

Philippians 2:14-15
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent
lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Proverbs 10:4
Lazy hands make for poverty,
but diligent hands bring wealth.

We have to recognize that all “get rich quick” schemes, “find success overnight” classes, “lose 100lbs in
2 months” fads…they all fail miserably. It is consistent, diligent work that brings about long term benefit.
Remember the garden picture we painted a few days ago. It is only in fairytales like Jack and the
Beanstalk that things grow overnight. The produce from a garden takes weeks and months to obtain. It
truly is consistent hard work that brings about our greatest chance for success.

Now I can picture in my mind the well-cared for garden where the gardener has worked daily in keeping
it up. It is almost overgrown, green and laden with produce. I can also picture in my mind a garden that
has fallen into disrepair. Even when a gardener fails to harvest the ripened produce the plants will stop
producing.

Triple D: Think of a time you gave up on something to early and you failed to reap anything for all your
labor. How did this make you feel? Is there an area you have been struggling to be faithful to the work
that it will take to make it productive? What can you do to motivate yourself to stay faithful? One way to
do this is to think of time when you were successful…