Life is short. Our remaining time on earth is being constantly depleted, second by second. Our time is a resource given by God — entrusted to us to manage well. Just as we are to be good stewards of our money, so also we are to be good stewards of our time.
The way we spend our time becomes not just a practical matter of maximum effectiveness; it becomes a spiritual decision. It comes in the day-to-day implementation — in the minute-by-minute struggle to maintain our work ethic instead of giving in to our inner procrastinator. On this practical level, the Christian is comforted, encouraged, challenged, and motivated by a wealth of scripture passages.
When the rubber meets the road, the Bible-focused Christian will think and act differently even in the seemingly small daily decisions. While maximizing your effectiveness and accomplishing great things are certainly worthwhile pursuits, they are only a portion of the holistic view of time and life that a believer holds. This is critical. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom in setting your priorities for the day.
Your goals for today also hinge on future plans that God has for you. Allow Him to lead you through His revealed will in the Bible. However, there are many decisions that you must make which God does not give clear guidance in the Bible.
From there allow His Spirit to lead you. This is not the case. God wants you to know what His will is. Time management really does not matter if you are not focusing your time on the right things. There is a lot of talk among ministers as to what your priority structure should be. Should it be: family first and church second?
Or, church first and family second? I believe if you will put God first, then you will know what should be second and third on the list. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your decisions and you will sometimes make the choice to put family over church ministry and sometimes church ministry over family.
Of course, you may not be a minister, but this principle still applies. Put God first and allow the Holy Spirit to help you know what your priorities in any situation should be. Take time to think and plan. Allen stresses the need for a weekly review. This is a time to sit down and think about what has been accomplished over the last week and what is coming up in the next week or months.
I recently spoke with a builder who said that he usually accomplishes more on a job the days he works by himself than the days he works with a crew. He knew that on days he was by himself he was forced to think through the job.
We count down the days until vacation as we picture ourselves relaxing. There was that laundry to take care of or that creaky door to repair or that reading we have to catch up on or that last minute preparation for our presentation. Our to-do lists are just as long as ever, and we feel overwhelmed. Maybe we take a day off and feel stressed the entire time as our tasks loom unfinished in the background.
We like the idea of resting. But the practice is different… not nearly as soothing. I was listening to a podcast the other day on the drastic changes coming our way over the next few decades as technology advances.
It will be unimaginable. The podcast hosts were so excited as they saw tremendous potential; they were optimistic about the fate of the human race. Have you ever read a stewardship parable like the Parable of the Minas and it made you feel guilty? Instead of identifying with the good stewards, you found yourself having more in common with the bad ones — you know, the ones that were called wicked and were punished severely.
Close Menu Home. For Christians, the second coming brings us hope.
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