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. KEEP THE MAIN THING THE FIRST THING. Right now, if we can, stop everything we are doing and listen. Drown out the loud voices of the world, our responsibilities, and demands upon us and listen intently. Do we hear it? Yes, it is faint but it is there. It won’t scream or yell, but it makes a sound that is constant. Maybe even like a whisper, but if we try hard and it will be hard, we can pick up its noise. It is the steady tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock of the clock of our lives second-by-second, minute-by-minute, and year-by-year moving us to the day it stops and our lives on this earth come to an end.

In today’s scripture, the Apostle Paul is identifying the greatest gift, apart from our salvation, God has given us – time. The reason why it is so precious is because the proper use of time determines the quality, sincerity, and depth of our relationships with the Lord and people. Yet, this precious gift is easily wasted, misused, and squandered away. Prove my statement. Think since Monday how much time we wasted. A minute here, a minute there, and soon hours wasted on the temporal and trivial at the expense of the eternal and spiritual.

When it comes to obeying today’s command to “make the best use of the time”, we need to prayerfully and seriously ponder what is the best use of our time. And we don’t have to pray and ponder long. The best use of our time must begin with keeping the main thing, the first thing and that our relationship with the Lord Jesus. He told a busy Martha, busy about good things, what she was missing in the use of her time – But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). What did Mary choose that was the “one thing necessary?” Sitting and learning at the feet of Jesus. Friends, with all the demands and noises of the world screaming for our time and attention, be careful. Be very careful we don’t get drawn away from the main thing – cultivating our walk with the Lord Jesus through unhindered and undistracted time in His Word and prayer. And what is most dangerous is that we will be drawn away from good things, even great things, but not the best thing. C.S. Lewis once said something of great value to consider – “Put first things first and we get second things thrown in; put second things first and we lose both first and second things.” Hmm . . .

PRAYER: “Father, may I not neglect the main thing, my relationship with You, by wasting the gift of time on other things.”
QUOTE: “Don’t let other things, even good other things, prevent you from pursuing life’s chief and best thing – Jesus.”