If you live in London – and probably most of the world these days – you’ll be familiar with one of these common responses to the question “How are you doing?”:
“Busy”, “Tired”, “Stressed”, “Too much to do, too little time”, “Overworked”, “Trying to hold it all together”
The funny thing with modern life is that we have are a lot of things which should make our lives easier and free up time to do what we want to. Just think about all the time used up with washing dishes without a dishwasher, or going to the shops without online shopping, or going to the post office before email just to name a few. Despite this, somehow we still end up running out of time and not doing the things we want to – or know we should do. (And just to be clear, I’m certainly not immune from this either – as anyone who knows me will tell you).
Of course the truth is, everyone has the same amount of time, and we all have the choices as to what we do with it.
Amanda and I have been watching a great series recently by Northpoint church called “Time of Your Life”. You can watch/listen/download from their website at http://www.northpoint.org/messages. I took the time to watch session 3 this morning. Here are some nuggets from the journey so far:
1. Your days are numbered
“Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” – Psalm 90:12
There is the reality that our days are numbered. If we realize this then, rather than just asking “what time is it”, we should spend more time asking “what should I do with my time”.
As we realize the nature of our limited time on earth, we start asking the question “what is the point”. Eventually we have to realize that we are not big enough to be the point of life, and there must be something greater to live for. Our best hope for using our time for any great significance is to find out God’s purpose and try to find your place in his much bigger plan.
2. Priority determines Capacity
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
You get more done by putting the most important things first (illustration of putting the big rocks in the jar first, then little rocks, then pebbles etc.”. Reality that we can get amazing amounts done if we put the right things first. Ultimately we get the right things done effectively when we get to a point of seeking God first, honouring Him with our time, and starting my day with Him.
When you prioritize correctly, you have an amazing amount of capacity. When you put God first you will not be less productive, you will actually be more productive. Just look at all that Jesus accomplished in three years of ministry!
3. Consistently make the most of every opportunity
“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity (redeeming the time) because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is” – Ephesians 5:16-17
There is cumulative value to investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period. Success comes from doing the little things consistently, not big things occasionally. Most of us know that small instalments of time over time make all the difference. However, we often don’t do this because there are no immediate benefits of doing the little things, and there are no immediate consequences of skipping the little things.
Neglect is cumulative as well. There are consequences of consistently neglecting the right things. Sometimes it takes a long time to turn things around again (and in some cases there may be a point of no return). There is no way to recapture time.
We live in times which are evil. The culture we live in distracts us and pushes us to neglect the things that are most important. There is a force of sin which leads us away from God’s priorities and when we follow it we ultimately waste our own time, wreck our own lives, and don’t fulfil the great purposes we have.
Not doing what we know we should is ultimately foolish. Wisdom is growing to understand what God’s will for you is and using your time to do it.
What about you?
If you want to make a difference with your time, how about taking up this challenge: Over the next 5 weeks, set aside just 40 minutes each week to listen to one of these messages (each are 30 minutes long) and then take 10 minutes to reflect on your life and write down a few things you want to change.
