THE ACCOUNTABILITY FACTOR
You And Your Time
Sometimes I’ve said, “I wish I had more time.” We don’t need more time. We have 24 hours in every day. What we need is to learn to manage our time
more wisely.
God has allotted each of us a measure of time on this
earth (Psalm 90:10). The time allotted
us, regardless of how long or short it is – is but a vapor, a whisper, a breath
(James 4:13, 14). Our concept of
time is somewhat relative. We view 10,
20, 30, 50, 70 years as either a short or long life.
In the context of these allotted years, God has given
each of us a time slot in which to determine our destiny and position in His
kingdom…a time slot in which to make our mark for Him down here. It was Carl Henry who said: “time is the
arena of man’s decision on his way to an eternal destiny.” Examples:
(1)
Our Lord came on time –
Gal 4:4; He left on time – John 13:1.
In between these points He made His contribution.
(2)
The apostle Paul was
given a course to finish and he finished it (II Tim.4: 6, 7).
(3)
The apostle Peter did
the same (II Peter 1: 12-14).
Time was of the essence for these men.
God has given to each of us a course for our life. He is desirous that we finish it. He will give us that time slot in which to
do that. This involves the development
of a strategy for our lives; the strategic use of our time. The fool has no strategy for life.
Time is to be viewed as a precious commodity (Eph.
5:15, 16; Col 4:5). Redeeming the time,
buying up the time, investing wisely in your time. We need to consider time as a valuable commodity not to be
wasted. It is in the context of time
that anything is accomplished – whether good or bad. One day you will be called upon to give account of the time entrusted
to you. We are on a racecourse with a
certain amount of time to finish (Heb 12: 1).
Are you wasting
time?
(1)
What constitutes
wasting time? A false concept of wasting time is that if one is not 100 percent
involved in the preparation or execution of your job/ministry, you are wasting
time…the work-a-holic.
(2)
We are to recognize
each day as 24 hours of opportunity to glorify God.
(3)
This is not to take
away from your enjoyment of the wholesome things of life. God wants you to be a well rounded person (I
Timothy 6:17).
(4)
Whatever you do, you do
it with a view to making God look good (I Cor. 10:31). Time not used constructively to edify, build
up spiritually, mentally, or emotionally is a waste of time.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I think we become more aware of the preciousness of
time as we grow older –for we have a tendency to look at life a little more
realistically. This is simply because
we have lived more of it and have less of it left. Some face the tragedy of a wasted life, a life in which nothing
has been accomplished for God. When a
person comes to those years when they have nothing but regrets and lost
opportunities, they are filled with the bitterness of wasted yesterdays. For the most part they try to justify all of
this. All because they did not take
seriously the time that God has allotted them to make an impact for Him in
their realm of influence for time and eternity.
On the other hand, how wonderful it is to come to the
end of your life and be able to say with Paul and Peter, “I have fought the
good fight – I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge will give to me on that day,
and not to me only but to all who have loved His appearing” (II Tim 4:6, 7).
Young people, older people, today is the first day of
the rest of your life. What will you do
with it?
God bless.
Many thanks to whomever left the sugar-free candy in
my mailbox! What a sweet surprise!!!