How are you making the most of your time?

by Sara Collins | Jan 16, 2019 | Harmony in the Chaos

Am I making the most of my time?  Homeschool, blog, church, family; I have so many things vying for my attention, but if I’m not careful, I can easily waste an entire day wandering aimlessly because I haven’t written anything down.  I know I have things to do, but I don’t know where to start.  I don’t want to come to the end of our school year and feel that I didn’t accomplish all that I set out to do.  I don’t want to look back at the end of this year and think that I did not give my all to my family or the people God has put in my life.  It is important that I learn to intentionally think about my time and how I spend it.

As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.

So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:10,12

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the parable of a man getting ready to go on a journey.  He calls his servants and entrusts to each of them various amounts of talents according to their ability.  To one he entrusts five talents, to another two talents, and the last he gave one talent.  Then he goes off on a journey.  When he returns, he lines the servants up to see what they did with the money.  He expects that they invested it in some way and received a return for it.  The man who had been given five talents traded with them and earned five more.  In the same manner, the man who had two talents also invested them and earned two more.  The landowner was pleased with these men, because they wisely used the possessions he gave them and acquired more.  This is what he he told them:

Well done, good and faithful slave.  You were faithful with a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matt. 25:21)

Then he came to the last slave, the man who had been given a single talent.  He was a fearful man.  What if he lost the talent?  What if he didn’t use it correctly and made a huge mess out of things?  He believed his master to be a hard man who reaped where he did not sow and didn’t want to disappoint him.  So he decided to hide the talent — he couldn’t lose it if he didn’t use it, right?  When the time came to give an accounting, he went and dug up the talent and held it out.  “See, here is your talent.  I was afraid to lose it because of what kind of man I knew you to be, but here it is, I didn’t lose it!”

Instead of being grateful, the master was furious!  He called the slave wicked and lazy!  “You should have at the very least put the money in the bank so it could earn interest!  What good does it do me in the ground!”  He then took the talent from the man and gave it to the servant with the ten talents.

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. (Matt. 25:29) 

What does this mean for us?  Let’s think of the talents as abilities or time.  God has graced each and every one of us with abilities and skills, as well as 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year.   How are we using these precious commodities?  Wisely and thoughtfully? Or are we hiding them in fear?  Are we squandering them on useless things that will gain no profit?

Consider 1 Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”  Am I being a faithful steward of what He has given me?   God has given me the ability to write and a desire to encourage others.  But if I decide that I’m too fearful to share the post I wrote (which I’ve done) or if I don’t talk to the person that I know needs encouragement for fear of rejection (also guilty), then I’m not being faithful to that which God has given me.  He has also given me six children and has called me to homeschool them.  I need to be faithful to teach them and prepare them for life.  I need to be faithful to share the gospel with them and show them what it means to be a christian.  The last two decades I’ve had as a parent have gone by in a flash; in another decade all my kids will be grown.  I only have a short amount of time with them — how am I spending it?

I know myself, and I know that if I am not proactive and intentional about my days, I can easily waste an entire day appearing active but actually accomplishing nothing.  If I don’t consider my goals and make a prioritized list of actions that need to be accomplished then I will wander from place to place, knowing something must be done but not knowing what to do first.  The Living Well Planner is the best thing I have found to keep track of my life and keep me in check. You can read why I like it in this post.  This is one way that I can keep from wasting my day.  It is the first step, but it isn’t the only step.  I must also DO the things I plan to do.

Psalm 37:5 says, Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He will do it.  Before I begin my day I need to spend time with the Lord, as well as meditate on His word throughout the day.  This is an important routine to fill up my tank for the day allowing me to go into my tasks with the right attitude and providing the words to use in spreading the gospel.  I will talk more about this in my next post.

Luke 16:10  “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much… If you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

What do you do to make sure you are using your time wisely?