Simple Truths about Time Management
By Larry D. Wright
#1. Time is the most valuable commodity you possess! You can make more money but not more time. You can recover from a bad investment but you cannot recover wasted time. When you kill time you are killing yourself.
#2. You don’t need more time! You have the same amount of time as all the creative geniuses of history and you have enough time to do everything that God desires. You have enough time to do everything God put you on earth to achieve. (Warren) So you must discover what God desires and learn how to manage the time He has given you for His will. Sometimes less is better!
#3. Good time management must be driven by purpose. Most people spend the majority of time on urgent demands (putting out fires) and unfinished tasks. However, when you are driven by purpose and established priorities then, and only then, will you be able to remove the pressure of the urgent. Some wise person observed, “Time is nature’s way of keeping everything from happening at once.” Instead of constantly asking, “What time is it?” ask, “What is this time for?” Read Psalm 90:12.
#4. Organize you time around what is really important. Most people spend their time removing items from a “To Do” list. Some things are much more important than others and among them are relationships. The best-spent time is time invested in relationships including: God, yourself, family, church family, fellow workers and the world community.
Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life says that we should do less of what we are not shaped for and more of what we are shaped to do. Also, he says that we have enough time to do God’s will, then ads, “If Satan can not make you bad, he will make you busy”.
#5. You must make the commitment to use time and not let time use you. Study the life of the Savior and you will conclude that He was indeed “the unhurried Jesus”, yet He was always on the Father’s time. Either you master your minutes or you will become a slave to your hours.
#6. Measure the value of time by quality and not quantity. The Bible employs two words for time: chronos refers to time measured by a clock, that is, the quantity of time measured in seconds, minutes, hours, etc. Kairos refers to quality or the moments that make life meaningful. The goal is to have a life of meaningful moments (karios) and not just length of days (chronos).
#7. Evaluate time in light of eternity. The time we spend on earth is minuscule compared to eternity because beyond is more important than now. Therefore, I must ask myself, “How can I spend my time so that it will impact eternity?” Paul called this “redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:16). Susan Ertz observed, “Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy afternoon.”
Scriptures Dealing With Time Management:
- Ephesians 5:15-16 & Colossians 4:5 (especially Phillips paraphrase)
- 1 Corinthians 9:26 (purpose driven)
- 2 Corinthians 10:13
- Proverbs 17:24
- Proverbs 16:9 (especially Living Bible)
- Luke 2:52
- Proverbs 19:21
- Psalm 90:12
- James 4:13-17
- Ecclesiastes 9:11, 12:1
- 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
- Job 7:6; 9:25
- Psalm 39:5
- Isaiah 38:12
Sources:
- Judson Edwards. Running the Race (Broadman:Nashville, 1985), pp.70-81
- Rick Warren. The Purpose Driven Life (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2002)
