In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that with technological advances, his grandchildren would work only 15 hours per week and have almost limitless free time. Not only was his prediction wrong, but it seems we are busier than ever, always struggling to get caught up. We walk fast, we drive fast, we work fast, we talk fast, and we eat fast. Then, we get done eating and we stand up and say, “Gotta run.”
I’ve never been a big fan of making New Year’s resolutions, or at least not of calling them that. I must admit though, that I’ve benefitted from setting goals and establishing priorities. As I think about goals and priorities for the year ahead, Paul’s encouragement to “redeem the time” (KJV) comes to mind: “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Eph. 5:15-17 NLT).
Don’t wake up one morning realizing that you’ve spent your whole life doing good things, but have missed out on the best.
How much thought do you put into how you live your life? We are encouraged by Scripture to do a healthy, careful, thoughtful examination of how we are living. Don’t live like fools. Don’t wake up one morning and realize that you’ve taught your children more about pursuing the American dream than pursuing God. Don’t wake up one morning to discover that your marriage is in shambles because you were too busy pursuing your own interests, or too busy trying to keep everybody else happy that you neglected your relationship with your spouse. Don’t wake up one morning realizing that you’ve spent your whole life doing good things, but have missed out on the best. Martha says to Jesus of her sister, Mary, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me” (Luke 10:40b). Jesus replies, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
Paul also instructs us to “make the most of every opportunity…” I believe that making the most of every opportunity starts with measuring the use of our time with our priorities. If you’re like me, you’ve often said deepening your relationship with Christ is your highest priority. How does the use of your time measure up to that? Maybe sharing Christ with your non-Christian friends is a priority for you this year. Does your time measure up? Perhaps strengthening your marriage is a high priority this year. Prove it! Plan your date nights in advance and then let your other activities and interests fall into place around them rather than just waiting to see if you happen to have a free night to spend with your wife. Read that book about marriage that has been sitting on your shelf. Register for that marriage retreat you’ve always talked about going to.
Finally, Paul encourages us to understand what the Lord wants us to do. While I’m all about people finding and embracing God’s specific will for their lives, I’ve come to believe that the will of God often has more to do with the journey than it does about arriving at some particular destination where we can say, “Ah, I’ve arrived at God’s perfect will for my life!” I believe what the Lord wants us to do is listen to His voice today and do what He says so He can lead us to where He wants us to be tomorrow. My goal for this year is to stack enough of those kinds of days on top of each other so I can get to the end of the year and say that to the best of my ability, I have understood and have done what the Lord wanted me to do.
I could say more, but the day is slipping by and I gotta run!
Photo credit: unsplash.com; Icons8 Team
