Now Reading
Snooze Button

Snooze Button

Do you ever hit the snooze button? I think I hit it every single day. OK, I probably hit it at least twice every day. I wish it had never been invented. I hate that little piece of plastic that sits on top of my alarm clock just begging me to hit it. It’s so much more enticing than that other button. You know, the one that just makes the noise stop and that’s it. That’s the one that leaves it up to your own willpower to get up once it goes off.

I love staying up late, and I hate getting up in the morning. So every morning that the buzzing hits my brain, I’m faced with the dilemma of the snooze button. It’s really a wonder that I get to work on time every day. The battle of the snooze button is probably the best example of mind over matter, and for me it’s one of the hardest battles.

It doesn’t help that I’m not a morning person. I despise you morning people out there. You know who you are—always happy and cheery in the morning. Singing, humming, laughing or jumping up and down with glee should not be allowed until after 11 a.m. So you can see why I have a love/hate relationship with the snooze button. Maybe I hate it because it reveals what I really am: a person with no willpower to simply be a man and get out of bed!

You’re probably thinking, "Wow, if he struggles with such a simple thing as controlling the alarm clock, he must really have some issues." And you know what? You’d be right. The daily battles rage in my life. It’s the Spirit vs. the flesh, good vs. evil, Superman vs. Lex Luthor, paper vs. plastic, SpongeBob vs. Squidworth, Homestar Runner vs. Strong Bad, wheat vs. white, God vs. Satan. Every decision comes hard. But you know what? I’m in really good company. Paul wrote this:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do I, agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is the sin living in me that does it … Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:14-25, TNIV)

OK, now read that again. Here’s the bad news: The law of sin is at war with my mind. I am powerless against it. The good news: The answer is Jesus Christ. He can free us from this battle. We are the prisoners of war forced to serve an evil master, but Jesus has come and rescued us from that master. Thank God for the one who liberates our souls! Paul is telling us to stop hitting the snooze button. Don’t give in to the flesh. Jesus has freed us from this flesh for a reason. We’ve been hitting the snooze button for far too long. Maybe it’s hitting the snooze on God’s voice. You know what He wants from you, but you just want a little more time to do what you want. Maybe it’s hitting the snooze on your relationships. You know who needs to hear about Christ or who needs to feel some love in their life, but you don’t act on it. Maybe you’re hitting the snooze on your dedication to Christ. You know you need to sacrifice those things that are holding you back from a fruitful Christian life, but your misleading heart tells you that your life is going to suck if you give up anything else for Christ. Hitting the snooze button is just taking the easy way out. There’s no reward in taking the easy route. Jesus said the road to heaven is narrow; in other words it’s tough. It’s not popular. It’s the opposite of everything your flesh is going to tell you.

Let’s stop hitting the snooze button. Let’s keep each other accountable. Let’s act like the men and women of God that we are because of Christ, and get out of our spiritual beds—and stop being lazy. The tough road is made easier when we travel together. Let us help each other with our burdens. Let us help each other make the right decisions. Let’s commit to this challenge that God has set before us. Let’s break off our spiritual snooze buttons.

Well, I guess I better go set my alarm for tomorrow morning …

View Comments (3)

Leave a Reply

© 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top

You’re reading our ad-supported experience

For our premium ad-free experience, including exclusive podcasts, issues and more, subscribe to

Plans start as low as $2.50/mo