"Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Eph.5:16, ESV)
Things that Waste Time
1. Godless Mysteries (Acts 1:7). Indulging time in things which are hidden by God is a wastage of time, because no matter how hard one will try, one cannot find out anything that is hidden by God. You cannot hack the secret files of heaven; there are no heaven-leaks. Beware of false teachers and mystery cults!
2. Gainless Controversies (2Tim.2:23; Tit.3:9,10; 1Tim.6:3-5). Do not waste time with someone who is obviously a rebel and has no interest in the truth. Those who are interested in truth will have a heart to listen as well. However, those who are obsessed with rebellion will persist in their folly. The Bible instructs about such, "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them." (Tit.3:10)
3. Negative People . Don't waste time with negative people who have no faith, are chronic critics, abusers of grace, and scoffers of good. Negative people are like blackholes that absorb everything around and are still never satisfied. They are waterless clouds and wandering stars (Jude 1:12) who only take and have nothing to give in return but negativity. Someone said well that God has made enough in the world to satisfy everyone's need, but not enough to satisfy one man's greed. Greed is a bottomless pit, and those who associate with selfish, greedy, and carnal minded people waste precious time which when lost cannot be regained. Remember, each one of us has only a slice of time allotted in this life; we must watch and use time like nothing else.
Best Employment of Time
1. House of God (Psa.84:10). All time used in the work of Christ and the Father is time sowed into eternity. It has amplified results. Therefore, the psalmist says that one day in God's house is better than 1000 elsewhere. God knows only one place on earth specifically, "the House of God"; every other place is just "elsewhere" compared to it.
2. Meditate on God's Word Day and Night (Psalm 1:2). To meditate doesn't mean to keep reading the Bible all the time. That is impossible; for one has got many other things to do. But, one can meditate upon God's Word day and night. Meditation means to try to recall, to search in our minds, what we have read and heard of God's word. The Holy Spirit will bring to one's mind the truths that one needs for a situation (Jn.16:13); however, that cannot be unless one is fellowshipping with the Spirit all the time by asking questions and searching for truth even while engaged in the daily chores of life. Meditation helps one assimilate God's word by personally tasting each bite of truth as relevant to one's situation. It helps one to apply God's word to one's life situations. When one applies God's word to one's life situations, one experiences divine grace and power.
3. Profitable Labor (Eccl.9:10). There are those who idle away time saying that they have no job to do; they consider themselves unemployed. But, does anyone need to be employed in order to work? The earth is full of works if one has wish to do whatever his hands find to do. The Bible is against wasting time in profitless labor and commands everyone to find something good to do in order to have enough to give to others in need (Eph.4:28; 2Thess.3:10,12).
4. Fellowship Time (Eph.5:16-20). Fellowship time with spiritually minded believers is a time of mutual edification. It is never a wastage. The Bible tells us to not give up meeting together as we see the Day of Christ's return approaching close (Heb.10:25). Fellowship doesn't just mean attending a church service; it means to participate in worship, in singing, in reading, in listening, in praising God, and in sharing one's testimonies, requests, and praying for each other. There is nothing as precious as the sight of God's children getting together and ministering unto the Lord on earth. He says where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is in their midst (Matt.18:20)
5. Sharpening Your Axe (Eccl.10:10). God has created the sabbath for man, so that he will be refreshed for greater impact later on. Rest is instituted by God. Each one of us needs to have a time away from the madding crowd to spend it in self-evaluation, self-improvement, and self-refocusing in the presence of the Lord. But, it's abnormal if one is sharpening his axe for 6 days to use it just for a single day. God ordained 6 days for work and 1 for rest, and rest comes only after work, remember.
6. Giving Time: Service and Money, but more Service. When we give money, we also give time (that was spent to earn that money); however, time itself cannot be substituted with money always. For instance, a father who only gives things and money to his children but has no time to spend with them is not considering that time and money are not the same thing. When we give significant time to someone, we add to their time significance. Sometimes, it may mean helping someone around. Sometimes, it may only mean to spend time by their bed side while they are sick. But, the gift of time out of a spirit of love is a powerful opportunity to tell the world that we are the children of God who, as our Lord, are willing to go out seeking for the one lost sheep than being satisfied with the 99 at home. Someone who gifts time never loses it, because he actually sows it into eternity.
Things that Waste Time
1. Godless Mysteries (Acts 1:7). Indulging time in things which are hidden by God is a wastage of time, because no matter how hard one will try, one cannot find out anything that is hidden by God. You cannot hack the secret files of heaven; there are no heaven-leaks. Beware of false teachers and mystery cults!
2. Gainless Controversies (2Tim.2:23; Tit.3:9,10; 1Tim.6:3-5). Do not waste time with someone who is obviously a rebel and has no interest in the truth. Those who are interested in truth will have a heart to listen as well. However, those who are obsessed with rebellion will persist in their folly. The Bible instructs about such, "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them." (Tit.3:10)
3. Negative People . Don't waste time with negative people who have no faith, are chronic critics, abusers of grace, and scoffers of good. Negative people are like blackholes that absorb everything around and are still never satisfied. They are waterless clouds and wandering stars (Jude 1:12) who only take and have nothing to give in return but negativity. Someone said well that God has made enough in the world to satisfy everyone's need, but not enough to satisfy one man's greed. Greed is a bottomless pit, and those who associate with selfish, greedy, and carnal minded people waste precious time which when lost cannot be regained. Remember, each one of us has only a slice of time allotted in this life; we must watch and use time like nothing else.
Best Employment of Time
1. House of God (Psa.84:10). All time used in the work of Christ and the Father is time sowed into eternity. It has amplified results. Therefore, the psalmist says that one day in God's house is better than 1000 elsewhere. God knows only one place on earth specifically, "the House of God"; every other place is just "elsewhere" compared to it.
2. Meditate on God's Word Day and Night (Psalm 1:2). To meditate doesn't mean to keep reading the Bible all the time. That is impossible; for one has got many other things to do. But, one can meditate upon God's Word day and night. Meditation means to try to recall, to search in our minds, what we have read and heard of God's word. The Holy Spirit will bring to one's mind the truths that one needs for a situation (Jn.16:13); however, that cannot be unless one is fellowshipping with the Spirit all the time by asking questions and searching for truth even while engaged in the daily chores of life. Meditation helps one assimilate God's word by personally tasting each bite of truth as relevant to one's situation. It helps one to apply God's word to one's life situations. When one applies God's word to one's life situations, one experiences divine grace and power.
3. Profitable Labor (Eccl.9:10). There are those who idle away time saying that they have no job to do; they consider themselves unemployed. But, does anyone need to be employed in order to work? The earth is full of works if one has wish to do whatever his hands find to do. The Bible is against wasting time in profitless labor and commands everyone to find something good to do in order to have enough to give to others in need (Eph.4:28; 2Thess.3:10,12).
4. Fellowship Time (Eph.5:16-20). Fellowship time with spiritually minded believers is a time of mutual edification. It is never a wastage. The Bible tells us to not give up meeting together as we see the Day of Christ's return approaching close (Heb.10:25). Fellowship doesn't just mean attending a church service; it means to participate in worship, in singing, in reading, in listening, in praising God, and in sharing one's testimonies, requests, and praying for each other. There is nothing as precious as the sight of God's children getting together and ministering unto the Lord on earth. He says where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is in their midst (Matt.18:20)
5. Sharpening Your Axe (Eccl.10:10). God has created the sabbath for man, so that he will be refreshed for greater impact later on. Rest is instituted by God. Each one of us needs to have a time away from the madding crowd to spend it in self-evaluation, self-improvement, and self-refocusing in the presence of the Lord. But, it's abnormal if one is sharpening his axe for 6 days to use it just for a single day. God ordained 6 days for work and 1 for rest, and rest comes only after work, remember.
6. Giving Time: Service and Money, but more Service. When we give money, we also give time (that was spent to earn that money); however, time itself cannot be substituted with money always. For instance, a father who only gives things and money to his children but has no time to spend with them is not considering that time and money are not the same thing. When we give significant time to someone, we add to their time significance. Sometimes, it may mean helping someone around. Sometimes, it may only mean to spend time by their bed side while they are sick. But, the gift of time out of a spirit of love is a powerful opportunity to tell the world that we are the children of God who, as our Lord, are willing to go out seeking for the one lost sheep than being satisfied with the 99 at home. Someone who gifts time never loses it, because he actually sows it into eternity.
Really thankful for this wonderful article on TIME....A Matchless treasure from ALMIGHTY GOD.
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