Our Blog

By: Pastor Berg

“I just can’t do that.  I don’t have the time.” Found yourself using those words lately? With the hustle and bustle of the school year drawing to a close, with all of those “end of the year” activities that seem to crop up, I’m sure most of us are looking to summer vacation when we’ll have more time. And yet, the truth is that we won’t have more time. There is no such thing as more time or less time.  The truth is that we all “have time.” In fact, we all get it at precisely the same rate:  365.25 days, 8766 hours, 525,960 minutes each year. Nobody gets a single minute more, or less. Usually what we mean when we say we don’t have the time is “I can’t because I’ve chosen to spend that time on something else.” And the reason for that, of course, is that you’ve decided the “something else” is more important (or maybe, more enjoyable) than what you’ve just been asked to do. You have a perfect right to make that choice.  Let’s just be honest with ourselves and one another and admit it. Our life decisions are almost never about “not having time.” They’re about priorities.

Unfortunately, our priorities rather easily get out of whack. I can think of people (myself included) I went to school with who, back in college, used to complain about the rough study nights they’d spend getting ready for their exams the next day – but their “rough study night” always seemed to include at least 4 hours of seeing how everyone else was doing on their studies and taking a break to play some video games. How about the father who regularly schedules “family time” away from the office – and spends it doing yard work, while his bored children sit inside and watch Saturday morning cartoons? How about the man who uses his spare time to take up some hobby or sport, but excuses his perpetual absence at family and church functions by saying, “I guess I’m just a workaholic?” How about the person who chooses to put in the long extra hours to climb the company ladder, to be able to buy some of the extra “good things” of life, or out of a feeling of obligation, while at the same time they miss out on hours, even days, with their spouse and children that they will never get back?

How do we keep those things from happening to us? How do we keep our priorities straight?  How can we “find” more “time” for what really matters? Books, tapes, and courses on time management can help. But they won’t help as much as changing the way we look at “our time.”  That is, rather than asking, “How should I manage my time?” try asking: “Whose time am I managing anyway?” That’s the same as asking, “Who gave me my life?  Who put me here?  Who decides how long I’ll be here, and when I’ll leave?” And the Bible’s answer couldn’t be clearer. The Psalmist writes, “My times are in your hands…” (Psalm 31:15). Every new day is a gift from God, which he gives to us for a reason: He wants us to have one more chance to get to know him and the boundless, amazing love he’s given us in his Son, Jesus Christ and to share that love with others! In other words, to Grow in Jesus and Tell of His Love!

God gives you a lifetime – short or long – to grow in that knowledge, and to let it show in a life of praise and service. That’s why we can call your life your “time of grace.” When your “time of grace” is gone – it’s gone. Here we are into the sixth month of the year.  We are nearly half-way through the 365.25 new days, 8766 new hours, 525,960 new minutes for each of us – if God so chooses.

What are you going to do with the rest of yours?