"The best use of a life is to invest it in something that will outlast it." (William James, psychologist).
"[M]aking the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16, NKJV).
Sloth, indolence, or acedia is known as the sin of doing or wanting to do nothing (laziness) and is better known as one of the so-called seven deadly sins of Roman Catholicism. Analogous is spiritual inertia or getting slack spiritually and losing discipline. It's hard to get motivated sometimes! Inertia is one of Newton's laws of physics that says a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion! We expend most of our energy just getting motivated and started just like when rockets launch and use most of their fuel just getting off the ground. But we all need times of spiritual, mental, and physical R & R but we can get carried away and lose our work ethic. We love to take it easy and be entertained or have a diversion but often too much for our own good. That's why God instituted the Sabbath (meaning "rest") to be taken on the seventh day of the week as God did so after Creation and hallowed it. "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God," (cf. Heb. 2:9).
Today according to New Testament custom we are not under the Law to go through any strict observance of the Sabbath; therefore, we are not to judge our brother on his conscience. Everyone should keep their faith to themselves and not judge. In principle, as a rule of thumb, any OT command not reinstituted in the NT or repeated is not valid; for example, the only command of the Decalogue not repeated for Christians is Sabbath observance. It is not mandatory for Christians, but they are free to exercise their own faith and conscience. It is clear from Neh. 9:14; Ezek. 20:20; Rom. 15:4, and Col. 2:16 that Sabbath laws are not binding for believers and Christians ought not to judge one another on what he believes. NB: The Sabbath was originally meant as a sign for Israel only, though the principle is always intact.
"[M]aking the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16, NKJV).
Sloth, indolence, or acedia is known as the sin of doing or wanting to do nothing (laziness) and is better known as one of the so-called seven deadly sins of Roman Catholicism. Analogous is spiritual inertia or getting slack spiritually and losing discipline. It's hard to get motivated sometimes! Inertia is one of Newton's laws of physics that says a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion! We expend most of our energy just getting motivated and started just like when rockets launch and use most of their fuel just getting off the ground. But we all need times of spiritual, mental, and physical R & R but we can get carried away and lose our work ethic. We love to take it easy and be entertained or have a diversion but often too much for our own good. That's why God instituted the Sabbath (meaning "rest") to be taken on the seventh day of the week as God did so after Creation and hallowed it. "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God," (cf. Heb. 2:9).
Today according to New Testament custom we are not under the Law to go through any strict observance of the Sabbath; therefore, we are not to judge our brother on his conscience. Everyone should keep their faith to themselves and not judge. In principle, as a rule of thumb, any OT command not reinstituted in the NT or repeated is not valid; for example, the only command of the Decalogue not repeated for Christians is Sabbath observance. It is not mandatory for Christians, but they are free to exercise their own faith and conscience. It is clear from Neh. 9:14; Ezek. 20:20; Rom. 15:4, and Col. 2:16 that Sabbath laws are not binding for believers and Christians ought not to judge one another on what he believes. NB: The Sabbath was originally meant as a sign for Israel only, though the principle is always intact.
It is wrong to believe that early Christians changed the Sabbath to Sunday in honor of or tribute to the Resurrection and called it the Lord's Day--this was their day of church gathering but it is clear from Scripture that Sabbath observance was never enforced in the early church. The Sabbath was originally a sign for Israel to mark it out as God's nation-- its original intention was for man's benefit, not to be a burden ("the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"). Though we are not under this kind of obligatory observance the principle of periodic rest remains and if we neglect it, it will be to the detriment of our wellness.
If we don't observe this principle (and don't realize that life is more than work) we will pay the price in a possible nervous or mental breakdown and God will force us to lie down in green pastures so to speak. We ignore rest at our peril and any short-term gain will have long-term effects. It takes faith to give God back the time He has given us and to realize we can accomplish more in six working days with one for rest and dedication to God than if we work all seven days.
Time is of the essence and a commodity we must value and not waste! The Bible exhorts us to redeem the time because the days are evil and Psalm 31:15 says that our times are in God's hands---it's not our time but only borrowed from God and we are mere stewards of it. Therefore, there is no such thing as an interruption because God is in control and fixes our schedule. When we live in God's time and walk with Him all things go smoothly according to Plan A. We should want God's will for our lives and don't want Him to say, "OK, have it your way!"
Time is of the essence and a commodity we must value and not waste! The Bible exhorts us to redeem the time because the days are evil and Psalm 31:15 says that our times are in God's hands---it's not our time but only borrowed from God and we are mere stewards of it. Therefore, there is no such thing as an interruption because God is in control and fixes our schedule. When we live in God's time and walk with Him all things go smoothly according to Plan A. We should want God's will for our lives and don't want Him to say, "OK, have it your way!"
Some people are so stingy with their time that they think God is worthy of only one hour of it per week while at church! There is this saying from an ancient people that they don't like to overwork and take breaks to let their souls catch up with their bodies! Taking a break isn't a sign of laziness but may be wise in the sense that a rested person can work all the more (efficiently). Our spirits, as well as bodies, need refreshment and rest--we are not machines.
Now, since we are stewards of our time let us consider what people do with it: we can waste it, find it, lose it, spend it, borrow it, save it, redeem it, steal it, buy it, kill it, share it, while it away, wait for it, invest it, enjoy it, anticipate it, remember it, fill it, and so forth, ad infinitum. Time is indeed our most precious commodity and Ernest Hemmingway said that time is the thing we have least of. Remember, love is often spelled T-I-M-E! We all value quality time with our loved ones and must remember we will give an account of our usage. Time flies (tempis fugit in Latin) and we cannot control it, only manage it. As far as investing it goes, we never lose out by giving God our time! Prayer is never a waste of time but an investment: Martin Luther started out the day with several hours of prayer, and if he was going to be busy--he'd spend more! This principle works for everything we own and gives back to God--He returns to us more in return (we are never the loser!).
For example, if you are pressed for time and cannot ever find enough, start investing in giving Him your time and He will give you "more" as a gift in return! When someone says he doesn't have the time, it's a lie and deception because we all have the same 168 hours per week as a gift from God--it's not our time to give but to use for God's glory. Jesus always had the time! We are only allowed a limited amount of time in this life and must seize the day (carpe deim in Latin). What it means is that he doesn't have the devotion to God's time, because it all belongs to Him. I am aware that there can be periods of depression or of having a depressed funk and to be in the doldrums, but one must learn to get out of the ruts and to avail of God's blessing and turn it into one's advantage and learning experience (chalk it up to experience and the school of hard knocks!). We can learn from these down-times and timeouts and everyone must experience them or they will never grow up spiritually.
It's times like these that our habits form and influence our behavior and we find out that there are dividends to reap in having good time management habits--there is an intrinsic reward in knowing that we have been productive and wise investors of the time God has allocated us as a gift to be used for Him and the service of others. We may retire from our employment, but never from God's service. It is selfish to insist on too much "me-time" or personal time-outs and not see it as something we owe others and God. In view of time as a God-given resource, we are all on borrowed time!
Certain people don't have all the time in the world, some are just better investors of it to God's glory. There is a tendency for people who have time on their hands to waste it, but he must realize that he too will give an account as to how he kept busy with God's time. Remember the words to Esther (Esth. 4:14, HCSB): "... Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this." Remember that God orchestrates history and time and "when the fullness of time" (cf. Gal. 4:4) comes He will accomplish His will. And so, learn to get with the program on God's timetable with your rhythms in sync with God's timeline, so you're on the same page with God! Final food for thought: We will always have enough time for God's will because He created the time-space continuum and can make time for us too. He MAKES EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME. (CF. ECCL. 3:11). Soli Deo Gloria!
Now, since we are stewards of our time let us consider what people do with it: we can waste it, find it, lose it, spend it, borrow it, save it, redeem it, steal it, buy it, kill it, share it, while it away, wait for it, invest it, enjoy it, anticipate it, remember it, fill it, and so forth, ad infinitum. Time is indeed our most precious commodity and Ernest Hemmingway said that time is the thing we have least of. Remember, love is often spelled T-I-M-E! We all value quality time with our loved ones and must remember we will give an account of our usage. Time flies (tempis fugit in Latin) and we cannot control it, only manage it. As far as investing it goes, we never lose out by giving God our time! Prayer is never a waste of time but an investment: Martin Luther started out the day with several hours of prayer, and if he was going to be busy--he'd spend more! This principle works for everything we own and gives back to God--He returns to us more in return (we are never the loser!).
For example, if you are pressed for time and cannot ever find enough, start investing in giving Him your time and He will give you "more" as a gift in return! When someone says he doesn't have the time, it's a lie and deception because we all have the same 168 hours per week as a gift from God--it's not our time to give but to use for God's glory. Jesus always had the time! We are only allowed a limited amount of time in this life and must seize the day (carpe deim in Latin). What it means is that he doesn't have the devotion to God's time, because it all belongs to Him. I am aware that there can be periods of depression or of having a depressed funk and to be in the doldrums, but one must learn to get out of the ruts and to avail of God's blessing and turn it into one's advantage and learning experience (chalk it up to experience and the school of hard knocks!). We can learn from these down-times and timeouts and everyone must experience them or they will never grow up spiritually.
It's times like these that our habits form and influence our behavior and we find out that there are dividends to reap in having good time management habits--there is an intrinsic reward in knowing that we have been productive and wise investors of the time God has allocated us as a gift to be used for Him and the service of others. We may retire from our employment, but never from God's service. It is selfish to insist on too much "me-time" or personal time-outs and not see it as something we owe others and God. In view of time as a God-given resource, we are all on borrowed time!
Certain people don't have all the time in the world, some are just better investors of it to God's glory. There is a tendency for people who have time on their hands to waste it, but he must realize that he too will give an account as to how he kept busy with God's time. Remember the words to Esther (Esth. 4:14, HCSB): "... Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this." Remember that God orchestrates history and time and "when the fullness of time" (cf. Gal. 4:4) comes He will accomplish His will. And so, learn to get with the program on God's timetable with your rhythms in sync with God's timeline, so you're on the same page with God! Final food for thought: We will always have enough time for God's will because He created the time-space continuum and can make time for us too. He MAKES EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME. (CF. ECCL. 3:11). Soli Deo Gloria!