Ripping off the Band-Aid (Genesis 24:54-61)

When taking off a band-aid, it’s common knowledge that you should just rip it off quickly because that will hurt less. But have you ever ripped a band-aid off quickly? It’s not pleasant. It hurts! Yet, if you’ve ever tried to take a band-aid off slowly, then you know that this too hurts. In fact, it hurts just as much, but for a longer period of time.

The same sentiment is true for many circumstances in our lives. If you’re prone to procrastinating, then you know the dread of having to write that paper or clean out that old shed, or have that difficult conversation. Our natural tendency is to put off the difficult task because we don’t really want to do it. But this is like tearing off a band-aid slowly—it’s still a difficult task that must get done, but now we will suffer much longer. Now, instead of getting the difficult task done and having the freedom to go do what we want to do, we procrastinate, and fill ourselves with dread over that task for much longer than necessary… and we still have to do the task!

Rebekah’s family knew what it was like to tear the band-aid off slowly. They wanted Rebekah to stay with them as long as possible before she had to go. But Abraham’s servant wouldn’t let them. He insisted that they needed to rip the band-aid off.

Please read Genesis 24:54-61.

I’m not going to say that Rebekah’s family was happy to see her go, but I will say that Abraham’s servant exercised some godly wisdom in refusing to let them draw out their goodbye. Perhaps the family thought that, by drawing out the goodbye, Rebekah would have more time to reflect on her decision and change her mind. But the servant insisted that Rebekah be given a clear choice to go with him or not. If she chose to go with him, she would be leaving her entire family behind, probably never to see them again. Whether she takes a week to think about it or not, the choice will remain the same. And she already knew what she wanted to do, so why draw out the painful uncertainty for the rest of the family?

Sometimes, we just need to rip the band-aid off. Once Rebekah did, her family blessed her and sent her on her way. Once you do that thing you’ve been putting off, you will have that burden lifted from your shoulders, and finally be able to relax.

Don’t misunderstand me: ripping off the band-aid will hurt. That conversation will be difficult; that old shed will be dirty; that paper will need solid research. But this is true whether you do it now or procrastinate for a few days and do it later. Abraham’s servant had the wisdom to say “do not delay.” Let’s follow his advice and rip that band-aid off today.