Time Management

I’ve been convicted lately of my poor habits in the realm of time management. I find it incredibly easy to waste many hours reading blogs, watching television, movies, etc. and so very hard to discipline myself to spend considerable time in study, prayer, and meditation. I think the value of time is paradoxical in this microwave generation. We are too impatient to wait a few minutes for our food at a restaurant, we get bent out of shape if we’re stuck behind a slow driver, we expect web pages to load in nano-seconds, and the list could go on and on. And yet, in spite of this apparent understanding of the preciousness of time, we are content to waste hours upon hours “surfing” the web or sitting in front of the television. What if we got a proper understanding of the preciousness of time and actually began “redeeming” it? Listen to these words from Charles Bridges’ Christian Ministry:

“The secret of this efficiency seems to have much consisted in a deep sense of the value of that most precious of all talents—time; and of an economical distribution of the minutest particles for specific purposes. Mr. Alleine would often say, ‘Give me a Christian, that counts his time more precious than gold.’ Mr. Cotton would express his regret after the departure of a visitor—‘I had rather have given this man a handful of money, than have been kept thus long out of my study.’ … But here we should be, like the miser with his money—saving it with care, and spending it with caution. It is well to have a book for every spare hour, to improve what Boyle calls the ‘parenthesis or interludes of time: which, coming between more important engagements, are wont to be lost by most men for want of a value for them: and even by good men, for want of skill to preserve them. And since goldsmiths and refiners are wont all year long to save the very sweepings of their shops, because they may contain in them some filings or dust of those richer metals, gold and silver; I see not, why a Christian may not be as careful, not to lose the fragments and lesser intervals of a thing incomparably more precious than any metal—time…’”
This section really made me ask, “Am I treasuring my time? Am I using it wisely? Am I focusing on things that have eternal value?”

How does one focus on things that have eternal value? Well, it means that you spend more time reading Scripture than you do watching television! It means you spend more time reading books on Theology or Apologetics, or at least Pastoral Ministry than you do watching movies! I’m not saying that we can’t spend any time being entertained or relaxing with our families and friends. But, I don’t think many Americans have any trouble budgeting in time for entertainment. So what will you sacrifice? Well, you probably won’t be up to speed on the latest news. You probably won’t be as knowledgeable about your favorite sport team as you could be. You won’t be able to follow the storyline of the latest season of your favorite television program. But, you will gain eternal rewards in heaven! You will have a deeper understanding of Scripture and God. You will be better able to give an account when someone asks of you. You will be better able to shepherd the flock of your family. You will be better equipped to minister to the saints in your local church. Sure you may give up some “Social Currency,” but I submit that it is worth it, and you won’t regret it.