Why Leave It So Late?

On a certain journey not long ago some travelers encountered one of those untamed onslaughts of the elements which man, despite all his previous preparations, is never quite prepared for. It became a question of survival, or of fear lest they should not survive. And afterward, one who was there soberly said: “There were some people who talked to the Lord that night, who had not talked to him for a long time.”

It is true that times of emergency, of danger, of fear, of stress, of urgent need often bring us to an earnest awareness of our dependence upon Providence. And when, in extreme circumstances, we are pressed to petition Him to whom we haven’t talked for a long time, the question may well be asked: “Why leave it so late?”

We never know, not any of us, when we are going to need help or when we shall wish we had done some things we didn’t do. We never know how our business ventures are going. We often assume that profits or success are certain when some unforeseen circumstance enters in, and we find that they weren’t so certain.

Sometimes in newly acquired affluence, short-sighted people assume that they won’t need their old friends or that they won’t need anyone. But fortunes change; reverses come; and we often find that we desperately need those from whom we have severed ourselves.

There is no one so big, no one so secure, no one who can so far foresee the future, but what he needs to keep his house and his life in order, his record straight, and his friendships in repair. A man who needs friends had better have them before he needs them. There is no one so wise or so self-sufficient but what he needs the services of others. And when the storm has broken, when the accident has happened, when the need is upon us, it may be a little too late. It is always too late to take out insurance to cover a previous casualty.

Of course we can repent. But even that we should not leave too late. We are dependent upon others always; we are dependent upon Providence always; and we ought to be on good terms with our family and friends, with ourselves, with life, and with our Father in heaven all the time. Humility and gratitude and consideration for all others and a prayerful approach to every problem is the safest insurance against all eventualities. And a good question to ask ourselves in all the ways of life is, “Why leave it so late?”