Time
Time is often an extremely cliché subject. Our culture is full of different expressions talking about how fast time goes or how we need to make the most of the time we have. As true as those statements are, cliché statements tend to be repeated without them actually being thought about or considered. I think that we as Christians need to seriously examine time, and how we use the time that is given to us.
The Bible has a lot to say about time. The first thing that we should know about time is how no one knows when it’s going to run out. Jesus, in the New Testament, uses a parable of a rich man who was planning on building more grain storehouses so that he could make a lot more money. However, he died later that night, and was never around to enjoy his riches. We may have many plans and hopes and dreams, but we may not have enough time to follow through on all of them. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t plan ahead, indeed, planning ahead is critical in our lives, but we need to make sure that we don’t put off the important things. Our culture glorifies the “work very hard so we can retire and then spend time with our families and do good in the world” attitude. This attitude is dangerous, for we might not live that long, or the ones that we love may not live that long. We need to keep God and our families as a focus in our lives, they are far more important than any earthly work could be. Spend time with God everyday, and don’t let your families take the backseat to your career. The time with your family when they’re young goes by so fast, and once it’s gone, you’ll never get it back.
Because none of us know when time is going to end for us or other people, we need to take the chances we have to witness. You could be the only Christian person in someone’s life, and if you don’t take the chance to witness to them, who will? People are fond of saying that they will talk to the unsaved people in their lives “later” or when it’s “more convenient”. You may only have one chance with some of these people, so we should use it.
Not only should we take advantage of the time we have for large purposes, such as God, family and witnessing, but we need to be careful not to waste our time. Our culture is big on mindless entertainment because it’s fun and enjoyable. Entertainment in moderation is not in and of itself wrong, but when its done to excess, it is wrong and wasteful. Doesn’t it seem foolish to spend so much time doing something that gives no return on the time that is put into it other than temporary pleasure? We should be careful not to waste the time we have on Earth in frivolous pursuits, but rather “Redeem the time, for the days are evil” as Paul says in Ephesians 5:16.
We only have one life on this earth; let’s make the most of it. Don’t waste time on idle pursuits, but rather focus on God and the things in life that truly matter.
