Maybe you were bored, or were waiting for someone or something, and you figured you'd just "kill a little time" by... well, what is it you do when you want to just kill a little time? Scroll your phone, Netflix on the couch?
It goes without saying (although here I go, saying it) that we probably waste more time staring at screens than any other time-wasting activity.
But this isn't an anti-screen screed.
Because as far as screen time goes, I am not looking to change the way you think about screens.
I am looking to change the way you think about TIME.
No time to kill
Lord, let me know my end, and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days like hand widths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; certainly all mankind standing is a mere breath. Certainly every person walks around as a fleeting shadow; they certainly make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. - Psalm 39:4-6
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. - James 4:13-14
Ponder that for a moment. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Your hourglass turned over the day you were born
You could live to be 120 (according to the longevity biohackers). Or you could be gone before bedtime tonight. There are no promises, no guarantees, as to how much sand is left in your hourglass.
Time and wealth are often compared, in that we only have a limited amount of both. The difference is, we usually know how much wealth we have — and if we lose it, we may replace it (if we have enough time, that is).
We don't know how much time we have. And once our time is spent, it can never be replaced. No currency can buy more. It's just gone. Forever.
Which makes time a whole lot more valuable than money — and we need to start valuing it accordingly.
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is only trouble and tragedy; for it quickly passes, and we disappear... So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. — Psalm 90:10, 12
What if you numbered your days, and valued them – like you do your dollars? If you live to 70, you’ll have more than 600,000 minutes to spend. Will you waste them, be careless with them, fail to invest them wisely?
There is no pause button on the hourglass. No rewind.
The ultimate time management system
As much as I’m fascinated by the latest "time hacks" or "habit stacking" or any other such technique, the ultimate time management system isn’t found in such things.
It’s found in the Book.
Therefore look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. — Ephesians 5:15-16
This might be the most important biblical counsel regarding time, because as Pastor Costi Hinn says, "Christians don't kill time, they redeem it." He also points out that every Christian has been born into a "time of evil" because every era has its own evil. So all of us were born "for such a time as this," as Mordecai told Queen Esther (Esther 4:13-14).
So how exactly do we redeem our time?
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. — Ephesians 2:10
Before He even created you, He prepared things for you to do. Assignments, if you will. You were specially crafted for these specific assignments, which generally fall under the broad categories of loving your neighbor, loving one another (your fellow believers), and loving and knowing Him better.
And there’s only so much time to do those tasks.
We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. – John 9:4
As Pastor Hinn adds, “For us to be wielded as a weapon for God's glory and the advancement of the gospel, we don't have time to waste.”
It’s hard to be a weapon for God’s glory from the couch. It’s hard to be a weapon for the advancement of the gospel while Insta-scrolling.
Practical magic
The best way to make the best use of your time is not really magic, but it’s a formula that works like magic.
Simply put:
Define your goal
Enumerate what moves you closer to that goal
Eliminate anything that doesn’t move you closer to that goal
#1
“Define your goal” should be easy. If you claim to live for Jesus… that’s the highest and best use of your time. Period. So take your time to God, hand it over to Him, and ask Him to work in you:
Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. – Proverbs 16:3
#2
Here’s where you get creative – enumerating your tactics. Brainstorm all the things that move you closer to the goal of living your life wholly for Jesus. Let’s unpack a few possibilities. Depending on your season of life, you might need to:
Spend time with God – prayer, Bible reading, Bible study, Bible memorization, Bible meditation (in this case, there’s no “might” about it – you must do all these things).
Find and commit to a church family, and be an active participant in worship services, Bible studies, serving the church, outreach opportunities, smaller group discipleship.
Look for ways to bring your whole family into outreach and service opportunities, as a means of discipling your kids. Open your house often, enlisting your family in home-based hospitality. Spend time with your church family this way. Spend time this way with your neighbors who need Jesus, too.
Speaking of discipling your kids – educate them at home. No better way to disciple anyone than day in, day out – spending lots of… (you know the answer here)... time. Together.
This isn’t just on mom. Look for ways that dad can be home-centered too – small business, homesteading, cottage industry. The more family time you spend together, the more impact on your kids’ lives.
Rest. Often. A whole day of rest every week is a great idea, from the Creator Himself. He considers rest so important that when He crafted each day, they each began with “and there was evening and there was morning.” The evening rest first, followed by the active day. Rest is an often-ignored but godly use of your time, and it can mean a lovely nap, but it doesn’t have to be sleep. It can be woodworking, or crocheting, or browsing cookbooks, or playing tennis, or walking through nature. Anything that rejuvenates is restful, because that’s what God made rest to do for us – give us life again.
#3
If you’ve been diligently thoughtful in curating your #2 list, it will start to be obvious what needs to be cut – because there isn’t enough time to do all the things that are your new priorities.
You don’t need me to tell you that screen time is a sinkhole that can eat up hours, or whole evenings (or whole days!). But equally dangerous is getting sidetracked by any activity that takes away from your goal. If it doesn’t help you live for Jesus, it doesn’t have to happen.
But don’t miss this – there’s that “rest” category, and a lot of lovely things that you might enjoy fall into that category. It’s not about denying yourself the good and beautiful pleasures the Lord created for us to enjoy. It’s about thoughtfully curating your days so that your activities, and your rest, all point back to Jesus.
Time vs eternity
One day, we won’t ever run out of time. But if you’re still alive, that day is not today. So a good goal, then, is this:
Redeem as many moments as possible in a way that matters for eternity.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. – Ecclesiastes 3:11
Yes, He has set eternity in our hearts. Until then, here’s a few more scriptures to guide your thinking on time.
Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. – Proverbs 6:6-8
And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. – Galatians 6:9
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, redeeming the time. – Colossians 4:5
God gave you an hourglass. Don’t waste your sand.
Tick tock!
Is there something you’ve cut back on, or would like to, in order to redeem your time for the most value? Share in the comments!
BONUS CONTENT
Distractions are a big part of time wasting, which Joshua Budimlic beautifully discusses HERE.