Ephesians 5:15-16 – Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
THEME OF THE DAY. MAKE IT COUNT. I believe all Christians share two commonalities when it comes to time. First, we complain there just isn’t enough of it. In the frantic pace of life, often self-imposed, we seem to have so much to do and so little time to do it. The result is we use words like, “I wish I had more time. Where does time go?” A second common trait in Christians, actually all humans, is we waste time. Now don’t be quick to defend yourself. We do it. A minute here, a minute there, soon turns into hours. In defining my statement “we waste time”, I am not referring to those times we find ourselves doing nothing. Who actually does a lot of that? In a busy world with so many demands upon us, as well as the pull of earthly pleasures, we rarely sit or lay around like my dog Jake doing nothing. I am defining “waste time” as the foolish and unwise investment of our most precious resource – time – on things that won’t matter when it comes to that day of all days – our Day of Judgment before the Lord Jesus.
A great preacher from the 19th century, Charles Simeon wrote, “Time is generally thought to be of little use, except as it may be employed in amusements or in the doing of worldly business; but its value, as it stands connected with eternity, exceeds all calculation. The manner in which every hour is spent is recorded in heaven; every moment.” That is a serious thought to consider, and to that end, I want to ask a series of questions about time, particularly, our free time when we choose how to use it.
Parents, are we investing more time in the spiritual development and nurturing of our children through family times in the Word and involvement in our churches or scurrying them around from one activity to another of a worldly nature? If the latter, we are wasting time.
Husbands and wives, are we investing more time in promoting Christlikeness and personal holiness with each other or simply going through the daily routines of living under the same roof having little to any spiritual interaction in the Word and prayer together? If the latter, we are wasting time.
Young people, are the pleasures of the world, worldly achievements, and desires getting more of your time causing you to miss the years of laying the solid Biblical foundation for a life of Christ-honoring service? If the former, we are wasting time.
To all of us, how are we using our time? Are we seeing how fast life flashes by? Are we understanding God has called us to be good stewards of time, making it count for Him? Is there an awareness this life is to be lived preparing for the next one? Have we been gripped with a sense of urgency to be about the Master’s business in our homes, churches, and communities? Could we be guilty of a gross imbalance of our free time in giving way too much of it to personal interests and desires that are worldly and fading at the neglect of investing in what is eternal and lasting?
It is interesting we find many books and seminars on how to manage our time. I think those are misleading. We cannot manage time. It is unmanageable. It will be under the control of no one. We cannot make it slow down, stop, or restart. No one manages time. We use time and it is a willing servant to us. It will do what we choose for it to do. Let me encourage all of us; choose wisely. There is a day of accounting coming when the Lord of eternity and time will call us to give an account for the use of our greatest resource on earth – time. May He help us make it count and starting today, at this time.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me to see my need to be a good steward of my time.”
QUOTE: “All Christians have the same amount of time to invest wisely or waste foolishly.”