In sermons over the years, I have sometimes brought out a vital key to Christian living that many have not understood. It involves how we give our lives to God.The Apostle Paul exhorts us: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1–2).
If our body is given to God and our mind is "renewed," just how do these actions express themselves in our daily lives? Should we watch the same amount of television as our neighbors do? Should we spend the same amount of time "shooting the breeze," going to ball games, reading novels or just "kicking back"—as the kids say— and doing nothing?
If not, why not?
The key element in all of this is the proper use of your time. When you give your life to God, you should realize that this means giving your time to God! For your life is composed of just so much time.
Jesus commanded: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). Obviously, if you "seek first" God's Kingdom and His righteousness, you will use your time as is needed to do this. You will have to learn to discipline yourself in your use of this very precious element in life. Most people are not "time conscious." They just sort of "wander" through life—letting things happen to them here and there, wasting time and not accomplishing nearly as much as they could.
However, true Christians should be filled with zest, enthusiasm and purpose, as they have a real reason for living. They have genuine goals and projects that they want to accomplish! Zealous converted Christians will want to be sure to take time for proper Bible study, for fervent and intensive prayer and for practicing the art of meditation— thinking things through carefully and truly contemplating God's law and all its ramifications as King David did (Psalm 119:97). And they will set aside time for fasting regularly, to spend extra time in a situation of humility and purpose—seeking God intensely.
The true Christian will realize that we are now "in training" to rule entire cities and perhaps nations in Tomorrow's World. As the Apostle Paul said: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:2–3).
In order to be genuine "overcomers" (Revelation 2:26) and be prepared to rule in Christ's soon-coming Kingdom, true Christians will want to organize their time, their thoughts and their lives, constantly "growing" not only in biblical knowledge but in real understanding. They will also want to be taking time to serve others and to do their part in the very Work of God in any way they can. As Christian soldiers "in training" they will want to set aside time to do those things that will genuinely prepare them for the real future which Jesus Christ promises. They will want to be "successes" in their calling as true Christians.
Again, the Apostle Paul tells us: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15–16). The Greek word used here for "redeem" means essentially the same as "redeem" in the English language. It means to "buy back" time—just as you would "buy back" your watch from a pawn shop if you had to borrow money by pawning your watch. Your time will be "taken away" from you, unless you take energetic steps to "grab on to it" before it slips away!
Satan has organized this world so that—if you are not very careful— you will find yourself watching inane programs on the television, talking aimlessly on the telephone, reading things that do not help you grow toward your Christian goal and doing other things that simply "kill" your time. Satan knows that if he can simply "take your time" then he will end up taking your very life! Your life is your time.
So, as the Apostle Paul said, you must "redeem the time"—use your time properly before it slips through your fingers.
Effective managers and top business executives all know the vital importance of the proper use of time. Peter Drucker, the world-renowned "dean" of management experts, emphasized in his writing this aspect of success. Drucker was for decades a highly respected consultant to top executives who run multi-billion dollar companies all over the world—as well as to top executives and managers in education and public life. In his outstanding book, The Effective Executive, he tells us:
Effective executives know where their time goes. They work systematically at managing the little of their time that can be brought under their control…. Effective executives, in my observation, do not start with their tasks. They start with their time. And they do not start out with planning. They start by finding out where their time actually goes. Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back unproductive demands on their time. Finally they consolidate their "discretionary" time into the largest possible continuing units. This three-step process, recording time, managing time, and consolidating time, is the foundation of executive effectiveness.
Effective executives know that time is the limiting factor. The output limits of any process are set by the scarcest resource. In the process we call "accomplishment," this is time.
Time is also a unique resource. Of the other major resources, money is actually quite plentiful. We long ago should have learned that it is the demand for capital, rather than the supply thereof, which sets the limit to economic growth and activity. People—the third limiting resource—one can hire, though one can rarely hire enough good people. But one cannot rent, hire, buy, or otherwise obtain more time.
The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it and no marginal utility curve for it. Moreover, time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever and will never come back. Time is, therefore, always in exceedingly short supply.
Time is totally irreplaceable. Within limits we can substitute one resource for another, copper for aluminum, for instance. We can substitute capital for human labor. We can use more knowledge or more brawn. But there is no substitute for time.
Everything requires time. It is the one truly universal condition. All work takes place in time and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable, and necessary resource. Nothing else, perhaps, distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time (pp. 23–26).
We can appreciate that highly effective Christians are also noted for their "tender loving care of time." They learn—in their use of time—to seek first those things that involve the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. For instance, even though the prophet Daniel was apparently second in command of the magnificent Persian Empire—needing to make important political and management decisions daily, with problems coming to him from every direction—he knew that his contact with God must come first, no matter what! Even when in danger of his very life for praying to the God of heaven, we read: "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days" (Daniel 6:10).
Daniel's "custom" was to pray to God three times a day. That took time. But, though no doubt busier than most of us in his executive responsibilities, he knew that this use of his time was essential.
Even though Jesus Christ had been very God and had been with the Father from eternity, once He became flesh He knew that He needed to "take time" to pray in order to keep that close fellowship with His Father—the Source of all wisdom, love and power. Mark 1:32–34 describes an occasion when Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons brought to Him after the Sabbath. But notice the very next verse: "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (v. 35).
In order to tap the "source" of His power, Jesus got up a "long while" before daybreak so He would have time to pray to God before anything else could intervene! This is a vital lesson for us.
In all of our Christian lives, brethren, we must learn to think through our use of time. Simple as it sounds, we must be sure that we "take time" to really study God's Word and "feed" upon it, to pray fervently and unhurriedly to God, to meditate and to fast before our Creator so that we have the spiritual strength that can come only from contact with God. Then, we must take time to serve one another genuinely and do the things God wants us to do in order to be fully pleasing to Him.
This vital key to the proper use of time is something every one of us needs to learn and practice—especially in this confused society where Satan is able to distract us and cause us to "kill" time so quickly and so easily.