Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent

Throughout my lifetime the importance of time has been impressed upon me. Time is something that needs to be appreciated, respected and managed because every individual only has a finite amount of it. The Bible tells us that life (which obviously is measured by time) is like a vapor which appears for a time and then vanishes away (James 3:13). It is apparent in the way we speak about time that it is of great importance to us. Man has created many cliché statements about time that focus on how precious it is, such as “time is money”, “time heals all wounds”, “time will tell” and the ever popular “don’t waste my time”. Because of its importance, many of us stress or agonize over our time and wonder if we are making the best use of it each day. If we examine how we actually spend our time, would we find we’re truly making the best use of it?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American will spend about 8.6 hours a day working and 7.6 hours sleeping (bls.gov 2012). Likewise, according to a current Nielsen report, most people over the age of two spend more than 34 hours a week watching television, which comes to about four hours a day (nydailynews.com 2012). All of these numbers combined account for over 139 hours in a week, but don’t even include the hours spent grooming, eating, traveling, shopping and other activities. Based on these statistics, we can easily see that within a 168 hour week there is not much time left for anything else. Sadly, if we calculate how much time we spend watching T.V. in our lifetime and compare it to how much we spend at church, reading the Bible or teaching a Bible study, without a doubt, television would have a greater share by a wide margin. Additionally, calculations would show that the average Christian will easily spend well over 90% percent of their time involved in non-religious rather than religious activities. In the grand scheme of things this is not inherently evil, but something we need to reflect upon and evaluate where our priorities lie.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-10, we are told that there is a time for many things in life (birth, death, planting, harvesting…etc.). I believe this shows that God is not unreasonable about time and that he understands some of our time will be taken up by ordinary human needs. However, how are we using the remaining time in our day, week or year? Are using it to study, to pray, or to worship? What kind of emotion do we have toward these remaining hours? Are we eager and excited to use this time to offer up worship to God, to study or to pray? Do we look at this small time (in comparison to the time we spend on ordinary things) that is spent on God as time well spent? Or do we look at it as being a hassle or inconvenience because we could be using this time on other things we would rather be doing? The small amount of time we spend for God should be special and appreciated, never neglected or squandered, because in reality it is the best use of time in our life. Why? Because it’s the time where we are able to give glory and honor to God, who has done so much for us by offering up his Son on the cross. Time spent on God also affords us the opportunity to gain the greatest gift of all— everlasting life in heaven (John 3:16). So in my humble opinion, being in the presence of God in worship, study or prayer is time well spent. How do you feel about it?

— Sam Barclay