“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16
As I reflect upon my life’s priorities and dedication to the things of the Lord, I see those sins that “so easily beset” me (Hebrews 12:1). One of those sins is the waste of time. I’m an expert at procrastination and whiling away precious moments on the unimportant.
Rest is necessary to the Christian life, and I’ll deal with that topic more later. I’m even an expert at wasting the time during which I should be resting. I can find an interesting book, magazine, movie, website, or other distraction to keep me from going to bed at a reasonable hour—and, often, to make me physically and mentally unprepared for the demands of the next day.
My problem isn’t a lack of rest. It’s a lack of hard work. Employing my mind and hands is necessary to a disciplined Christian life. Failure to work leads to a pattern of laziness and usually brings other sins with it. The old saying proves true: “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Where do I go from here? I recognize my problem in this matter. I want to begin with some small steps that have the ability to make a large impact.
Here’s where I begin:
- I will check email no more than twice a day. There may be occasional important or urgent items that interrupt this plan, but I suspect I’ll find those to be few as I turn from excessively checking email to engaging in productive tasks.
- My time and interaction on Facebook will be changed. I will allot a few minutes per day for Facebook; once I reach this limit, my web browser will lock me out of the site. I will also prune my friend list to remove folks that I don’t personally know, and I will filter my feeds to show updates only from family or close friends with whom I most wish to stay in touch. Facebook is a useful tool for keeping in contact with loved ones, but it can become an easy distraction.
As I continue to reflect on my practice of work in light of the Lord’s word, I will identify other areas that need pruning. And I’ll also identify productive ways to fill the time that has been freed. After all, creating more open time on my schedule is only helpful if I’m making good use of it.
Hey Daniel,
I was looking up blog posts on Redeeming the Time and discovered this blog. I can totally understand your efforts to focus on being a better steward of your time. It’s something I’m really going through right now as well.
I actually just posted a blog post today where I analyzed Ephesians 5:15-16. If you’re interested, check it out here:
http://www.lifeofasteward.com/redeeming-the-time-a-closer-look/
I think you made a really powerful point in your last paragraph. Ultimately, it’s not just about not doing the bad things but also choosing to fill our time with the good things. If we’re not aware of this on the front end, we can exchange one time-waster for another, all the while patting ourselves on the back about how we’re “redeeming the time.”
Loren, thanks for sharing the link to your article. It's important to ensure we are making the most of our time–for the kingdom of God. Doing so requires us to focus on virtue instead of substituting another vice for the one we've dropped.
So far, reducing Facebook time is helping. I'm still working on cutting out other distractions and filling the time with meaningful items. I have some other thoughts about this, and I'll share them later–including some time management techniques that have worked for me.