“I just can’t. I’d like to, but I don’t have the time.”
This is not a very truthful excuse. We all “have time.” In fact, we all get it at precisely the same rate: 365¼ days, or 8766 hours, or 525,960 minutes each year. Nobody gets more than anyone else.
Usually our excuse really is, “I can’t because I’ve chosen to spend my time on something else.” The reason for that, of course, is that something else is more important or enjoyable than what we have just been asked to do.
The truth is that our life decisions are almost never about not having time. They are about priorities. Unfortunately, our priorities rather easily get out of whack. We all know stories of people, for example, who spent so much time working for their families that they lost them.
How do we keep those things from happening to us? How do we keep our priorities straight? How can we “find” more time for what really matters?
Books, DVDs, and courses on time management can help. The best way is via a fundamental “paradigm shift,” to steal a phrase from one of them. That is, do not ask, “How should I manage my time?” Rather ask, “Whose time am I managing, anyway?”
We can put it another way. We can say, “Who gave me my life? Who put me here? Who decides how long I’ll be here, and when I’ll leave?
The Bible’s answer is clear. Our time is in God’s hands (check out Psalm 31:15). Every new day is a gift from him. He gives us our time so we can get to know him. He wants us to enjoy the boundless, amazing love he offers through his Son, Jesus Christ.
God gives us a lifetime, whether short or long. Our lifetime is a time of grace. It is the time we have to come to know Jesus as our Savior. It is our time to have our faith grow. It is our time to show our appreciation for God’s gifts to us through praise and service.
Here we are at the beginning of another year, with the days, hours, and minutes God allots to us. How will we use them?
Pastor R.
