Don’t Waste Your Time

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(15) Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.’ (Ephesians 5:15-17)

We think we have all the time in the world, but the fact of the matter is we have a finite number of minutes and seconds. There is a pain-relief commercial where the spokesman proclaims ‘the wasting of time is the greatest indulgence’ and that is very true, and we all indulge in it to some extent.  What we accomplish or fail to accomplish in the time we have can define who we are, for our lifetime. 

We all have our time of procrastination, as much as we have our time of creative flow to accomplish required and desired tasks.  We may believe that one hour of lost sleep in the springtime is something we may never get back, yet we lose more than that whenever we’re stuck in traffic – time we’ll never get back.  Time is precious and something we should try to make the most of.

Paul tells the Ephesians (and us) not to waste time; not in the sense that we should not take the time to play golf or go to the gun range or go see a movie.  There is a time for those things.  Instead, when we do these things, and all other things, we should not overlook the need to share the Gospel of Christ with others.   When in restaurants for example, we are able to briefly talk to our servers.  It typically never turns into a deep theological discussion but a brief inquiry on what we can bring to the Lord in prayer for them allows them to open up a bit.  Then the nut is cracked, and inviting them to our church or to talk more can be offered.

We see people in our lives daily, and often overlook the opportunities to share what the Lord can do.  If we keep the Lord in the forefront of what we do, then we can find those cracks to try to fit in Jesus.  Remember it is not up to us to break open those cracks; Jesus can do that once we introduce Him.  Our actions as much as our talking provide Jesus to those who we see.  Sometimes we think more of what we need to accomplish from a secular perspective (ordering the food, eating the food, then going home to watch TV, nap or golf), and overlook the opportunity to introduce Jesus. 

There are those times we will need to be more ‘evangelistic’, and give someone the ‘Romans’ Road’ path to salvation.  Be ready to do that, and provide them that when prompted by the Holy Spirit.  Be ready to share your testimony to others when the opportunity arises.  In many cases, though, we simply need to be open to sharing some time with others and allow Jesus to work on them while providing a pathway to Him for them.  It’s OK to talk to people about their convictions and to at least ask them what their prayer needs are.  It amazes me how many people respond favorably to a request for their prayer needs. 

Use the time you have to share Jesus, even if it is simply to pray; a crack can turn into a chasm that allows Jesus to walk right in!