Joshua 8:14
And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.
Joshua was trying to right the wrong that he had done in not getting God’s mind in fighting Ai the first time. He had cared for the sin that caused God to withhold His blessing, and now he was going to fight Ai with God’s help and God’s way. He sent spies into the city who would ambush the city at a time appointed after the armies had left to pursue Israel’s main army.
This time appointed was critical to the success of this plan. Let’s just assume that these spies waited too long to follow Joshua’s plan; had they done this, Israel would have lost another battle. Had they thought the time appointed was not a big deal and that they could do it later, they would have lost the battle, and who knows if this battle was the key to them conquering the Promised Land.
Punctuality is a character trait that reveals your mindset of the time appointed. I am a big believer in being on time. In the church I pastor, I have taught my people and practiced that we always start at the time something is scheduled to start. It does not matter how many people are present at the time appointed; we must always start because that is the scheduled time. There will always be those who lack the character to be on time, and their excuses always reveal their mindset of authority and the planned activity. Let me reveal the mindsets of those who arrive late.
The first mindset is a self-centered mindset. The fact that they believe they can arrive late shows how they think life revolves around them. A person who is late reveals their ego that they are above everyone else who is expected to be on time. To think that you can arrive late when others are expected to arrive on time shows how much you truly think about the time of others that is wasted by your tardiness. You are not just being late when you miss a time appointed, but you are wasting the time of those who arrived early. Being on time for everything is a start in overcoming the world-revolves-around-me mentality.
The second mindset is what is happening before you arrive is unimportant. To arrive late is to say what you missed is not critical to the event. If it is not critical, why do we do it? Someone planned that event to start at a certain time, and everything they do from the start to the finish is critical to accomplishing what the event is supposed to accomplish. You are missing out on part of what the event can do for you when you arrive late.
The third mindset is that you disagree with the authority that planned the time appointed. Some authority set a time to start, and arriving late shows you disagree with the authority who planned the event. Showing up late is more than a lack of character; but it is a rebellious heart that says it knows more than the authority who set the time.
My friend, being on time is critical in everything we do. Anybody can be on time if they choose to be on time. God is a God of punctuality, and if you are to be like God, you will be on time like He is. Don't be passive about punctuality, but make it a priority, and everything you do in that activity will take higher priority with your effort.
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