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Our present generation is the busiest group of people in human history. Everyone lives in the fast lane, and many people have the mentality of living hard and living fast, especially those who are considered the millennial generation. People work hard and play hard because our society tells us that time is money, and we need to make as much of it as we can to be successful. Don’t get me wrong, working to provide for our family’s needs is an honorable thing. Money certainly doesn’t grow on trees, but there must be a balance in our lives where there is also a prioritization of spiritual activity that will have eternal value.
How can we meet the needs of our family but also give God the preeminence in the time He has given us?
By giving importance to things that have eternal value
Many of the things that we do in life are good things and needful in order to “make a living.” However, we should pause each morning to make sure we have set aside time for things that hold eternal value. 1 Corinthians 10:23 "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not."
1. Meditation on God’s Word
Psalm 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
David mediated upon the Word of God “all day.” Why? Because he loved God and knew he needed God’s presence and God’s voice in his life every hour of every day.
What will be the result if we, as Christians, prioritize spending time in the Word of God?
Psalm 119:165 "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."
2. Communication with God through prayer
Psalm 5:3 "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."
Psalm 55:17 "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."
Working hard is good, but working smart is better. We work smart when we involve the Lord in whatever we are doing throughout the day. Wisdom comes from talking to God and asking for guidance. The more we talk to God, the wiser we will become in our daily conversation.
3. Personal involvement in soulwinning
We can never take for granted the ministry of soulwinning. Proverbs 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."
If we want to be wise managers of our time, we must be involved with soulwinning. Church, when we are able to meet again, I would encourage you to come to one organized soulwinning activity a month. In the meantime, we can share our salvation testimony with our neighbors, family and friends as the Lord leads. We can also send Pastor Tim’s Gospel presentation to those we know and love: FaithBaptist.org/Heaven
By eliminating things that are not important
If we want to be better managers of the time God has given us, we must eliminate things in our life that choke out the more important activities of eternal value. We must identify these secondary activities, minimize our involvement or possibly eliminate them completely. It can be a habit, a hobby or sometimes people in our lives. We need to ask God for wisdom in identifying the “time wasters” in our life.
1. Habit of constantly checking our phones
Americans check their phones on average once every 12 minutes and bury their heads in their phones 80 times a day, according to new research. A study by Global Tech Protection and support company, Asurion, found that the average person struggles to go a little more than 10 minutes without checking their phone.
2. Hobbies that waste time
Watching too much television, addiction to computer games, sports, our children’s endless activities—none of these are bad in moderation; however, any hobby that requires “too much” of our time can crowd out the more important things of eternal value and can become idols in our life.
Challenge: How are you using the time God has given you? Are you using it wisely? What areas can you change so that your life will be more acceptable to God?
We have been given a wonderful gift to manage: the gift of time. Let us manage it wisely for the glory of God!
