Here in my country, the Philippines, we are familiar with the expression "Mañana habit," which means "putting off for tomorrow what one can do today." I also often hear the expression Bukas na lang, or "Let's do it tomorrow," from students and teachers. I myself have said those words especially in doing some schoolwork or housework— even in the reading of the weekly Bible Lesson.1
I'm the cook for breakfast at home, and I always planned to read the Bible Lesson first, before I did the cooking. But it never seemed to work out. Whenever the small clock under my pillow rang, I would think of getting up to start reading. But something always seemed to stop me from doing so. Later on I would tell myself, "There is still Tuesday. I can read the lesson then." When Tuesday came I was even more lazy about waking up for my reading time. But when it was time to cook, then I got up fast! Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, arrived but nothing happened. I hadn't read even one section of the Lesson-Sermon, so I couldn't participate intelligently in the discussion at the Christian Science Sunday School.
I began asking myself, "Why can't I 'rise up' in the morning when it's time to read the lesson?" The word future came to my thought, and I asked myself, "What will happen to me tomorrow, the next day, the next month, and in the following years, if I continue to practice the mañana habit?" My answer was, "There will be no bright tomorrow. There will be no development or growth in the future."
