Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring. Proverbs 27:1
“Nothing is quite as sobering as canceling appointments for a once-busy dead man.”
Sitting in the audience under the teaching of one of our favorite authors, I heard these words many years ago. Their power still grips me.
Most men I know carry some kind of calendar. Most guys I know prefer the schedule-keeper on a smartphone, while some still use one made of old-fashioned paper. Until just a few years ago, the one I carried was huge. It included slots for my driver’s license and credit cards along with monthly and daily calendars. Every year, I’d order twelve more months’ worth of pages. I always thought of this as sound planning, wouldn’t you agree? Back to my smartphone and yours. We can make appointments a month, a year, or a hundred years from now. Come to think of it, it’s presumptuous, too.
Several years ago, I attended a seminar designed to help people effectively use the organizers I used to carry. The leader told us something that reminded me of the quote from our author friend. “Never use anything but a pencil when you’re filling out your calendar,” he advised. “You never know what will happen.” Not bad for a traveling time-management salesman.
Although King Solomon never carried a smartphone, wrote in a planner, or at- tended a time-management seminar, he understood all of these things. “Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring” (v. 1), he wisely said, stylus in hand.
My grandmother never talked about plans without prefacing them with, “The Lord willing.” “The Lord willing, we’ll have roasted chicken for dinner.” “The Lord willing, we’ll go to the store tomorrow.” “The Lord willing, we’ll see you this summer.” As a kid, this really irritated me. The Lord willing, you’ll stop saying “The Lord willing,” I used to mutter under my breath.
Little did I realize how appropriate and profound this phrase was. In fact, Nancy and I now use it ourselves, many times a day. Grandmother would be proud.
Carrying a calendar is good. Planning is a wise use of your time. Knowing what’s coming next week, next month, and next year makes a lot of sense. But be careful about being too confident. The Lord willing, we’ll make it to tomorrow.
By the way, is there anything you ought to take care of just in case someone else has to cancel all your appointments next week?