“Time is a talent
given us by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to his
design. If we have lost our time
heretofore, we must double our
diligence for the future.”
We’ve been taught that a day is divided into 24
hours. Math is not my ministry, but technically, a day consists of 23hrs, 56
minutes, 4 and nine-tenths of a second. Those 366-day-having leap
years account for the missing 3 minutes and 55.9 or so seconds, but one thing is sure—we can’t get any of that time back once it’s gone.
What
each day provides, are new opportunities. Among those is to be of service—not for applause,
compensation, or out of a competitive spirit, but because it’s just the right,
beneficial, or nice thing to do.
We invest time on a regular basis, but it’s usually
at the conclusion of a matter that we
evaluate whether the time was well spent. It’s usually when we feel we have wasted time and are angry, hurt, or disappointed
about what seems like unappreciated effort, affection, or resources, that we become more thoughtful and diligent about using time more wisely
in the future.
So what do we do with all of our valuable, but fleeting time? It's not going to wait. It’s
certainly going to be used up, whether we harness it for good or not, so why
not seize it, as opposed to watching it fly by?
When we do decide we’re going to
give of our time, what activities and people become priorities, and what, or who do we decide to remove from our
schedules?
I thought about a Thomas Dorsey composition called "Today" that I used to hear sung in church when I was younger. The lyrics are:
“Have I given anything today?
Have I helped some needy soul along the way?
From the dawn ‘til setting Sun
Have I wounded anyone?
Shall I weep for what I’ve done today?”
Sometimes we weep for what we weren’t able to do, and lament that we don't have more time. If we’re honest, we do have free time, and we could
be of greater service if we would only make reasonable, realistic choices, avoid procrastinating, and manage
our time more efficiently.
We are often overwhelmed as
we cram more and more into our days. Sometimes, it's out of habit, other times
because it’s just how we were taught,
or emergencies, demands, or even our personalities
drive us to volunteer.
Sometimes we have to remind and assure ourselves that we can’t be
everywhere, and that’s okay.
Sure. You want
to go and help, but if all you want to do when you get there is find a corner, and take a nap, what’s the point?
If you have to be hopped up on an energy
drink to function, how present, authentic and clearheaded will you be? If
you’re looking at your watch or the clock more than you're focusing on the task at hand, do you
think, maybe, you should have left that particular task to someone else?
Today, there is an expectation of immediacy. Patience
has really taken a hit!
There was a time when, if you phoned someone and they
weren’t at home, you had to wait for them to get home, hear the message you
left, and call you back. Now, everyone assumes that everyone else is glued to devices.
People get testy when you don’t answer right away! The assumption is not that
you weren’t home, or were otherwise occupied, but that you’re ignoring them!
What if your phone was
off?
What if your battery died?
What if you were in the bathroom?
What if you
decided to take a media break to spend time attending to all of the things
you’ve neglected?
With the
advent of social media, we can pretty much keep tabs on the people in our lives,
and see in real time how their time
is spent—and for some people, based on your online presence, they determine whether or not you should be able to fit in more time for them.
Many accuse others of being on Facebook all day long, but
then, how do they know if they aren’t right there with them?
Sometimes people
are upset with you because you didn’t cancel your plans in order to help them
move, attend to their event, finish their assignment, pick them up, drop something
off, babysit, prepare a dish, or pinch hit for them. There really are people in
your life who behave as if you work for
them!
They’ve decided that what you have to do isn’t as important as what they
want you to do.
They constantly blow up your phone, and act as if you’re on their time, and should be at their beck
and call. Perhaps, that's because you always
have been. You’ve always put yourself on the back burner.
You allowed
people to guilt you into giving up time you really couldn’t spare at the moment.
Answering the call of someone else, left you with a pile of things on your backed-up to-do list.
Remember, we
teach people how to treat us.
If you’re the person who always says “yes” to
everyone, be prepared to be tired all the time, and be prepared for an
interrogation the day you decide to reclaim your time and say, “No.”
Have you noticed when you say "yes" that no one
ever asks “Why?” or “Why not?” Your “no” is a problem to the people who have
never had the misfortune of hearing it.
Your responsibilities on your job, and to your family
are important. Priorities matter.
What we can’t allow others to do, is become
micro-managers of our time, and determine what we will, won’t, or should be able
to do, based on their estimation of
what’s on your plate.
The most qualified
person to determine how much spare time you have is you. You’re the only one
who can be honest with yourself about it.
We’re the custodians of our own free
time, and whether we spend it in idle activity, or contributing to something
affirming, productive, and positive, is up to us.
Our very lives are made up of
blocks of time. It stands to reason that how we choose spend our time is a good indicator of how we spend our
lives.
Are we happily working,
building,
helping,
creating,
serving,
earning,
teaching,
fixing,
solving,
learning.
or just busy?
When we choose to, are we fully giving
the things and people in our lives our time, or could we just as well replace
ourselves with a rock, and it would have the same effect?
Are we really present
and engaged, or just sharing the same spaces with others?
Are we aware of how
our inattentiveness is affecting those around us, or are we just content to
argue, “They ought to be glad I’m even here”?
Would it be better if we just told others--without apology,
“You know what? I can’t do that right
now. I can’t be there. I’m swamped today, but I know I can fit that in
tomorrow”.
I think others would appreciate it if we’d be more candid about how
much time we can give, rather than to commit to something, and then display an
attitude that indicates we’re distracted, uncommitted, not listening,
preoccupied, bored, rushing through, or we’d rather be somewhere else, doing
something
else.
Knowing our limitations is so important.
Listening
to our bodies is, too.
We can be so consumed with sowing time into so many
things, that we burn ourselves out, and are no good to any of the people or
organizations we say we love, and want to support.
It’s important to know when to say "yes" and when
to say "no", and not be manipulated into putting more onto our plates that they
can hold.
Why be busy doing something, and miserable at the same time?
I think 2
Corinthians 9:7 can apply to how we use our time.
It says,
“Each of you should
give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
When you are spent and burned out, and feeling as if
your time is being hijacked, how cheerful can you be?
Isaiah 55:2 asks, “Why
spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”
When
you’ve assumed the issues, cares, responsibilities, problems, assignments, and
chores of others, how do you feel-- encouraged and fulfilled, or bitter and
exhausted?
When you decide to take from the time you have been allotted to meet
the needs or wants of others, how much time does that leave for you to mind
your own affairs?
Does it matter?
You can’t feel very good about what you have
sown into the lives of others, if the result is your own weariness, lack,
illness, stress, or the neglect of your own household.
It is honorable to be of assistance to others, to take time
out of your schedule to attend to something that doesn’t directly benefit you,
but you cannot be effective if your heart, mind, soul and strength have been
stretched to their limits.
Proverbs 11:25 says
“The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters, will himself
, be watered”.
I don’t think that is merely a monetary reference.
Sometimes, the time you invest is more beneficial than the check you write, or
credit card you swipe. No one should expect you to give and give, and neglect
yourself and your own interests, and never be refreshed.
At funerals, everyone looks down and comments about how natural the deceased appears, and how helpful and kind they were, and as soon as it's over, whatever work they did will be done by someone else--or even two or three people.
Don’t even put the
kind of pressure on yourself that affects your health and well-being. There's nothing spiritual about that.
Sowing and reaping is
not only a financial principle. The time you share means something.
Too often
relationships are lost, particularly between parents and children, because
people don’t see the value of sowing time.
Sometimes we feel we’re overwhelmed, and
tend to throw money at an issue that would better be solved by our activity, attention,
and presence.
Have you ever visited a sick person and asked what they needed
and they said that your presence was enough? That it was just nice to sit and
talk? That you really didn’t have to do
anything else?
Time is a valuable thing, and should never be minimized. Sowing time is all about balance, exercising
wisdom, good judgment and discernment.
2 Corinthians 8:12 says, “For if the
eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have”.
Giving of your time, particularly to worthy causes, is
a good thing, but sowing time, just like sowing talent and treasure, shouldn’t
be shared out of compulsion or duress, but out of your own free will—and
you also have to determine what’s worthy, necessary, and important, and what
isn’t.
What will constitute the best use of your presence and skills set, and
what won’t?
Every task that we set out
to do, desire to do, or take on is not for us. We have to know when to
respectfully pass on some assignments, when we know we haven’t set aside time to
do them well.
God has given us all those, approximately, 24 hours. There is enough for
ourselves, and if we are mindful, there is also time for others—and we want
that time to be meaningful, and well spent.
You may feel overwhelmed now just thinking about all
that you think you have to do today.
Just stop.
Breathe.
Yes. There are things that happen unexpectedly that alter our
schedules, but even in those moments, how we give of ourselves matters.
Matthew Henry wrote: “Wherever we are, we may
find good work to do, if we have but hearts to do
it”.
The Pulpit Commentary of Ecclesiastes 11:2 says, “Do
not let your ignorance of the future and the inscrutability, (or mystery) of
God's dealings lead you to indolence and apathy; do your appointed work; be
active and diligent in your calling. That means “morning and evening—early and
late; when young and when old; in sunshine and under clouds, whatever your hand
finds to do, do it with all of your
might”.
It's so good to know that your effort is not in vain and your time
has not been wasted.
“Good is to be done
at all times, as opportunity offers, throughout the whole of life, and in all
conditions and circumstances."
There’s certainly enough time for well-doing
if we make a conscious effort—and that includes making time to be good to
ourselves.
Don’t forget that you, too,
are good ground.
#justkeepgoing
#DEW4U
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