Calling In Sick?

There have been a handful of mornings in ministry when I have had a strong desire to call in sick.

Not on days that I’ve actually been sick, mind you.

But days when the bed felt awfully warm. And there were some things on my schedule that I simply didn’t want to face. And I knew the days ahead were long.

So I thought, “wouldn’t it be OK, just this once, to pretend like I’m sick?” Just spend the day reading the novel I’m enjoying, checking the Tennis Channel, maybe even working out.

But no.

There is the rather obvious matter of honesty. Once you start lying, then the lies begin to cascade down through the rest of your life.

Yet there is an even more important reality: those things I didn’t want to face and those meetings I didn’t want to have would still be there whenever I came back from being “sick.” Better to address difficult things first rather than delaying what is inevitable.

So I showed up.

That’s a prerequisite for success anyway, isn’t it?