By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
Last week I talked about the Stewardship of Time [See post “Redeem the Time”]. I want to talk about it again this week. The word time is mentioned 623 times in the Bible. I believe time is one of the most important tasks over which God has given us stewardship. Don’t get me wrong, talent and money are important, but we can accomplish more with time. We all have time.
So how do we spend our time anyway? The average person spends:
- 70 days reading the Bible
- 6 months sitting at stoplights
- 8 months opening junk mail
- 1 year looking for misplaced objects
- 2 years on the internet
- 4 years doing housework
- 5 years waiting in lines
- 5.5 years driving a car
- 7.5 years listening to the radio
- 10 years in front of the television[1]
J. Hampton Keathley, III notes that, “There are many inequities in the world, but one thing we all have in common is the same amount of time each day. God has allotted twenty-four hours to each one of us. Perhaps, because we are products of our fast-paced society, we tend to think and act as though God has short changed us when it comes to time. It is not uncommon to hear comments like, “There just isn’t enough time in a day to do everything I need to do.” “I just don’t know where the time goes.” “I’ll try to find time, but I’m hard pressed for time at the present.” In our day when many people meet themselves coming and going, most people feel pushed for time. The feeling is that there simply aren’t enough hours in a day. Life with all its demands is far too busy.[2]
I say Bah humbug to this. We cannot let busyness overshadow our roles as Stewards of time. In Luke 10: 38-42 there is the familiar story of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened while Martha, the Bible says, was “distracted by all of the preparations that had to be made.” She was upset and told the Lord that Mary had left her to do all the work. In verses 41-42, the Lord said, “Martha, Martha, …”you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Amen! Martha was focused on the busyness of life and missed the opportunity to sit with the Master.
We all have time, but how do we use it? Do we spend it with the Lord? Do we use it to the glory of God? Do we put our hands to the plow?
Yesterday when I came to church, Pastor Tedd was out front sweeping. I walked inside and Minister Tony was sweeping and a few minutes later, Deacon Mincey came in and he started sweeping. It didn’t take any talent or money to sweep. It just took time to put their hands to the plow.
I went into the kitchen and several women were gathered and more came as the morning progressed. We got the breakfast ready, made coffee, set tables, rolled forks, cut cakes, got the lunch prepared, staffed the registration desk, cleaned up, washed dished and emptied the trash. It didn’t take any talent or money to do any of these tasks. It just took time to put our hands to the plow.
Luke 9:62 tells us to put our hands to the plow, but also warns us that if we do and we look back, we are not “fit for the kingdom of God.” When we commit ourselves to God and focus on the tasks He has for our time and our hands, I declare and decree, looking back won’t even come to mind. Amen!
As I was going through Momma’s things, I found an envelope. On the outside of it was written “things to keep.” Inside were a number of poems and shorts stories. Let me leave you with this one. It’s called “In Memoriam.”
“We were saddened to learn of the death of one of our Association’s valuable members, “Someone Else.” Someone’s passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill.
Else has been with us for many years. Someone did far more that a normal person’s share of work. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. “Someone Else can work with that group.”
Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, a meeting to attend, or a chairmanship to hold, one name was on everybody’s lips—“let Someone Else do it.”
When you have an opportunity to participate in our Association’s activities, step forward and do it. Remember—we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore!
Grace, as good and faithful stewards of God’s time, we must remember, it’s our task, not “Someone Else’s,” to put our hands to the plow and to use God’s time wisely. Amen!
[1] Sloan, D. (2007). Stewardship of Time. At https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/stewardship-of-time-david-slone-sermon-on-giving-yourself-105962.
[2] Keathley, J. H, III (2004). The Stewardship of Time. At https://bible.org/seriespage/31-stewardship-time .inne