Using Time Wisely

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are upon us.  I trust that you have had a great time enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful colors that abound in the summertime.  But summer is almost over.  Well, at least it is already 2/3 over with just the month of August to go. Fall is right around the corner and soon children will head back to school.  I am sure you have heard comments such as: “Time sure flies” and “Where has the time gone?”  Yes, these comments seem to be true.  Maybe that is why the Apostle Paul decided to share important insights about time with the people to whom he was writing.  He said, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). In these verses Paul suggests several things:

1)      Pay attention to how you live.  The challenge to “Be very careful” suggests the importance of being alert and cautious about how we act and live.  Wise thought needs to be given to the way we live because time does pass quickly and if we are not sensbile we can live in ways that do not please God.

2)      Be wise in the use of time.  The comparison of “Not as unwise but as wise” becomes a word to the careful person since we can so easily waste our time by letting it escape without accomplishing anything worthwhile or godly.

3)      Make sure to do what is important. The idea of “Making the most of every opportunity” suggests that we ought to seriously consider using our time to focus on things that are positive, purposeful, and productive.  Our activities should benefit God’s kingdom and help people bring glory to God.

4)      Recognize that foolish endeavors can easily emerge. The phrase “Because the days are evil” helps us realize that there is wickedness all around us which can so easily draw us and others into involvement in things which do not please God.

People want, desire, collect, and yes, even demand “things.”  However, once things are accumulated it usually does not take long to discover that those things do not provide satisfaction.  What people need is a right relationship with God.  When people become rightly related to God through personal faith and trust in His Son Jesus Christ, they discover real purpose in living.  With a right relationship with God people will delight in doing things right as well as in doing the right things. When we do things that are right, our actions and attitudes please God.  God is delighted and glorified when we pay attention to the time that He has graciously given to us.  Ask yourself: Am I spending time in God’s Word?  Am I investing my life in people?  Am I allowing God’s Spirit to direct me in living my life for God?  Time does pass quickly.  Let’s use our time wisely.

Things That Last

It was not so long ago that we celebrated Christmas.  We decorated our homes, sang songs, purchased gifts, ate food, opened presents, and enjoyed times of celebration with family and friends.  Have you noticed that some of the new things that you received for Christmas are changing?  They are beginning to fade.  They are not used as much as when you first received them. They have dents or cracks.  They are beginning to corrode.  They are outdated because something newer has come on the market.  Things in this world just do not last.  Since this is true, we ought to ask ourselves, “What in the world is going to last?”  The Bible points to two things.

1)      God’s Word will last.  Peter tells us, “For, ‘all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’” (I Peter 1:24-25). Reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word is not only a good thing to do; it is imperative because in it we are told how God wants us to live.  Furthermore, we are also told specifics regarding what Scripture does for us.  The Bible says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17).  Scripture’s usefulness comes through instruction, reprimanding, improving, and teaching which is all for the purpose of helping us grow and be prepared for godly living. The Bible challenges us to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).  This means that when we allow God’s Word to be engrained in our lives it will not only help us grow spiritually but we will also be enabled to help others.

2)      People will last.  The Apostle John reminds us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  People were created by God to have fellowship with Him both now and in the future.  The disciple Peter tells us that “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).  Therefore, we ought to be about the business of making sure that we have a right relationship with God and that other people have the opportunity to become part of God’s family as well.  John continues to say, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12).  It was Jesus who said, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life” (John 6:47). People are important and God wants them involved in eternity with Him.

So, the two things that will last are God’s word and people.  This should give us cause to think about an application question.  The question: “Where am I spending my time?  Is it with God’s Word and with people or with something that will not last?”  Take time to evaluate your life and your activities and then take appropriate action.

People are Important

If you look back at the February calendar it will reveal several special days – Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, and Valentine’s Day.  All of these special days bring people to mind.  People are important – to us, and to God.  In fact, people are so important that God took action.  He created.  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

God not only created but he also loved. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Aren’t you glad to know that in God’s sight you are important?  Since God highly values us we ought to have that same value in mind when we think of other people.  Listen to the words of Jesus: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). We need to love.

What greater motivation could there be for us, not only in February but all year long, than to recognize that people are important.  That kind of motivation ought to be a challenge for each of us to express thoughts and acts of kindness towards others.