Making the Time

Sometimes life gets very busy.  It's hard to "find" the time to do those things which God has asked of us, so we often just need to "make" the time.  If we all began to write down exactly what we do in a day's time (in increments of 15 minutes) I think we'd all find that there is a big portion of each day we simple fritter away on non-essential, unimportant things.  I suspect, if you are anything like me, the biggest thief of our time is the television.  It's so easy to get caught up in that make-believe world of the small screen that an hour can pass by before we know it.  Now, I'm not saying that we must discipline ourselves to never watch television (although my daughter and her family have not had a T.V. in well over 5 years and don't seem any the worse for wear as a result), but certainly restricting ourselves and choosing the programming carefully is in order.

"I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me."  (Psalm 101:3)

Another thief of our time is the bed.  I know of several people who have cultivated the habit of spending far too much time in bed and whose lives show the consequences of such a lifestyle.  Generally speaking, they are overweight, feel sluggish all the time, and complain of a "foggy head" nearly every single day.  Some suffer from chronic back pain and others from chronic headaches.  Too much sleep, like anything else in our lives in which we overindulge, is not good for the human body.  Medical research indicates that oversleeping results in obesity, back pain, headaches, increased risk for diabetes, higher incidence of coronary artery disease, and depression.  The average adult requires seven to nine hours of sleep each night, and anything over that becomes problematic. 

"Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare."  (Proverbs 20:13)

"How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?"  (Proverbs 6:9)

Yet another thief of our time has been the newest craze for social media.  Smart phones seem permanently attached to the hands of some people.  In fact, the other day I was using a public restroom and heard the woman in an adjacent stall talking on her phone to someone.  Are you kidding?!  If you cannot even use the bathroom privately, surely things have gotten out of hand somewhere.  Hours of time can easily fly past as we choose to sit in front of a computer screen or a smart phone and live vicariously through the lives of others.  Sometimes it appears nothing more than a raging desire to know everyone else's business is what prompts people to glue themselves to these tiny screens.  

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before."  (I Thessalonians 4:11)

Do not misunderstand me here.  Sometimes life does indeed get very busy.  The past couple of weeks I have found myself inundated with responsibilities that have kept me from writing on this blog.  There have been important events at church that required preparation and presentation.  I have been a part of an effort to furnish over 300 free meals to members of our community who often go without food for most of their day.  I am organizing a women's mission group that had fallen by the wayside for many years.  I am also putting together a community-wide interdenominational revival which requires countless hours of work and phone calls.  Add to all those things the fact that I just finished final exams at seminary and am now preparing to enter into my ordination training for the ministry.  Obviously, I have been busy.  However, the Holy Spirit gave me inspiration to start this blog and He has not released me from that obligation as yet.  I apologize for not "making" time to see to it that there has been fresh inspiration and insight for those who regularly read it.  And I promise to try very hard to do better in the future.

So... now I need to schedule a time into my busy weeks ahead to be responsible to this area of ministry.  Perhaps you, too, need to "make" time for something in your life to which you know the Lord is calling you.  Start by unplugging the T.V., temporarily turning off your cell phone, and getting out of bed a half-hour earlier than you have been (or maybe even an hour, depending on how much time you've been spending there).  Purpose in your heart to make each moment of each day an offering to the Lord and service to others.  The eternal rewards will far exceed any temporary satisfaction we may find in the things of this world.

"For we must all stand before Christ to be judged.  We will receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body."  (2 Corinthians 5:10