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A newly hired consultant rushed into the personnel manager’s office and
demanded, "I need to know which employees are approaching retirement
age."
The personnel manager replied, "All of them. Not one of them is going
the other way.
Good answer. From the moment a person is born he begins to move toward
the day of his death. The Bible says, "Man springs up like a flower and
then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." (Job
14:2)
But while time is limited for everyone, everyone has all the time that
there is. Last year, everyone had twenty-four hours each day, seven days
each week, and fifty-two weeks in the year.
This year will not be any different. Everyone who lives to the next New
Year will have all the time there is.
Tension arises when people try to fit more things into their schedule
than there is time. Since they already have all the time there is, the
only thing left to do is to try and compress what they are doing into
smaller time blocks.
The result is a rat race of running from one event to another, guzzling
down fast food, and missing out on the most important things in life –
things like relationships, love, faith and inner peace.
The secret of life is to keep the main thing the main thing. And what is
the main thing? For a Christian, it is doing God’s will.
The only way that anyone can do God’s will and avoid a life of tension
is to learn to say "No" at the right times. People who do not learn to
say "No" get their lives so full of events and activities that they
cannot say "Yes" when better things come along.
God does not give us bonus points if we cram so much into our schedule
that we have ulcers. But neither is God pleased if we develop a selfish
schedule that includes everything we want to do and little that He wants
us to do.
Often, the struggle for a Christian is not between doing something good
and doing something bad, but between doing something good and doing
something better. Sadly, many people run out of time before the best
things in life are accomplished.
The reason a Christian should not run out of time is because he sets
priorities in his life. At the top of the list are worshipping God and
giving proper attention to one’s spouse and children.
People with priorities in their lives cannot involve their children in
every activity and sport, cannot participate in every social event, and
cannot keep up with all the gadgets and electronic gear that becomes
available. But by uncluttering their lives they are able to slow down
and smell the roses along the way.
The Bible says, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in
the name of the Lord Jesus. Make the most of every opportunity."
(Colossians 3:17 & 4:4).
Paul Jetter, Upper Valley Community Church |
