The Lord has designed us to be relational, and relationships require time! Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. He enjoyed his relationship with the Lord and had regular time with Him. Jesus spent time with the Lord in the early hours of the day. It was important to Him to commune with God before He faced people or did the work of ministry.
As I shared in the last devotional, our culture is a very busy culture. People are overcommitted, and they run from one commitment to the next, which results in shallow connections. A lifestyle of busyness brings about insecurity in relationships and causes marriages and families to be malnourished for time.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
The above scripture is a reminder that all the earthly treasures will eventually be destroyed. If our focus in life is gaining material wealth, status, or titles, we will find ourselves bankrupt someday. The recent fires in California and hurricanes elsewhere are a reminder of how quickly things can burn up and investments can be destroyed. The treasures we lay up in heaven are about our relationships and how we impacted the lives of those around us and those that we ministered to.
We may spend years in worldly accomplishments, but they are short-lived and have no lasting value. Regardless of our position in a company, we are easily replaced and become history within a few weeks. Furthermore, anything that demands so much of our attention today will soon be replaced with another demand tomorrow. Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure that we don’t allow the urgent to take our time away from the people that are God’s priority for us.
Those who are single parents have the toughest job! Hopefully, you have family or friends who pray for your family regularly and encourage you in tough seasons. If you are empty nesters you may want to invest sometime in supporting a single parent with his/her demands of life. Those who are married couples have more options. Some of them might say that they are working for their family, so their children can have a good life and are well-provided for. That’s a noble goal, and the Bible tells us it is our responsibility to provide for our family. However, we need to remind ourselves that the best gifts we can give our children is our time, a healthy marriage, and a relationship with the Lord! Our season in life and our relational priorities are two important factors that should determine how we spend our time.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
