Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:13-14
The above scripture reminds us that we have a very limited time here on earth, and our focus should be the will of God and what He desires for us to do with our time. Just because something looks good or is not a sin, it does not mean that it is a beneficial use of our time. The two greatest commandments are about relationship with the Lord and relationship with people. We are designed to have meaningful relationships. Time is the currency for developing and nurturing relationships!
It is the relationships that sharpen us, shape us, and mold us in Christ image. It is through relationships that we have the opportunity to share Christ with others and give them the most significant invitation of their lives. It is also through relationships that we support one another in time of need. If we are going to fulfill the call of God in our lives and be obedient to Him, we need to be mindful of how we use our time. All of us should value it for it is one of the most precious commodities!
When we don’t value our time, we spend it frivolously. Those things that look interesting, showy, or urgent distract us from what is really important. Our time should be managed and budgeted just as our money is budgeted. However, time and money have differences in their limitation. Some people may have unlimited financial resources, but we all have 24 hours in a day and an average of 70-80 years of life on this earth. Therefore, managing our time is critical regardless of who we are and our status in life. We should have a long range focus on how we invest our time. It is important to save, invest, build a career, or purchase a house, but they all have to be managed in the light of commitments we have made in our lives.
Have you invested time, prayer, and support in certain relationships? Are there people in your life who feel the freedom to call you at anytime of day? Are there people in your life that you can call upon at anytime of day? When we don’t value our time, we use it unwisely. This eventually leads to isolation, problems with our primary commitments in life, and lack of meaningful relationships in life. If you don’t have those kinds of relationships, pray and ask the Lord to show you a couple of people that you can begin investing your time in and developing that kind of relationship.
For years we have been told that we can achieve any dream we desire if we work hard enough, but this is not the whole truth! No one told us the price we have to pay in terms of our time to reach those dreams and its cost on our families and relationships. Just because we can achieve a dream, it does not mean it is the right time to do it. Jesus told us to take up our cross and deny ourselves (See Luke 9:23). I don’t think, many people see this scripture in the light of letting go of their financial or career dreams for the sake of God’s priorities.
How are you managing your time? Do you value it and use it intentionally to give your primary commitments the time they need?
