Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/89

Contributor - Peggy Humby

Title - A Christian Perspective On Time Management

Topic - Time

Tomorrow, I'll get organized!"

How many times have you said that to yourself'.?

You rationalize what you are doing as being "God's work," after all you are not working outside the home like so and so, the meetings and Bible Study you attend are stimulating and it is good for the little ones to play with each other while you study God's word. So what if you are a bit rushed at times and your husband had to help the children with the homework and do the dishes - it didn't hurt him - ? -and this week the laundry wasn't done - and remember yesterday, you had to rush to the store for milk and bread - an on and on it goes... You often take the text "Seek you first the Kingdom of God.." as .."seek you ONLY the Kingdom of God".. do you find yourself ONLY discussing the matters of the Church to the detriment of family discussion? Are you involved in the Community at all?

If you are a working mother your problem may seem to be different - but is it? Do you find time for personal devotions? Time for your family? Can you fit everything in?

Now is the time to take care of the problem. Time is a gift that is too precious to be wasted think about this verse:

I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it, Forced upon me - can't refuse it, Didn't seek it, didn't choose it, But it's up to me to use it - give account if I abuse it, just a tiny little minute - but eternity in it! Anonymous.

OK you say, but I still need more hours in my day... No you don't. The Lord rotates the earth once every 24 hours and that is time enough for us to do what he requires us to do. In Joshua 10: 14,15, the Lord allowed the sun and moon to stand still until the battle was finished Joshua prayed for time to stand still and the Lord granted his request because it was necessary. Now often we pray for time to stand still and our prayers are not answered, but the Lord understands our needs and if we refocus our priorities and just do what is most important we will find that we will have time for church duties, family and friends.

First of all, we must pray for God's will for our lives, then we must sit down and plan.

Set goals for every area of your life and include the family... Set three types of goals Lifetime, three year and six month and prioritize them.

Once your goals are set, then you must get down to the real planning. Monthly, weekly and daily. Work with your family and make sure that there is family time included in every area.

Remember Martha - she was so worried about her housework, she had no time to visit with the Lord. Does this happen to you? Do you sometimes forget (or pot have time for) your morning devotions - do you rush through a prayer, not waiting in silence for His word? Think about this would you rather talk about the one you love or be with him/her?

When we seek God's priorities the days he gives us will always be long enough.

Many times I have been asked about the relationship between Time Management and Christianity - do they conflict? MY answer is that our God is not a God of chaos - after all he made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. One could not accomplish such a gigantic task without being organized. Throughout the scriptures we see order brought out of chaos by Prophets in the Old Testament and the disciples in the New and really the only book we need to read is the Bible - all the instructions for managing your time are there if you look for them.

So let us not fret about how little time we have, let us . ust get on and live life to the fullest, in the best way we know how, trusting in the Lord and letting him carry our burdens.

In her book I Was An Over Committed Christian, Nyla Jane Witmore developed a checklist to make sure that she used her time and talents wisely. It went something like this:

SPIRITUAL

a) Are my priorities in order? God, husband, family, Christian and Community service, Job, Career?

b) Private Devotions: Did I exchange public or family devotions for the face to face dialogue with the Lord today? This week?

c) Today, when I prayed, did I allow times of silence? Did I t and ss or just didn't have time to pray today I'll catch up later!"

ATTITUDE

a) Am I willing to believe I that the group can function without me?

b) Am I careful of keeping my sense of humility when any activity or project might puff up my ego.

INTERPERSONAL

a) Do I find that I am unable to listen to an individual without allowing my thoughts or eyes to dart around the room as if I need to be doing something else?

b) Am I short-tempered with loved ones?

CALENDAR

a) When was the last time I filled in my calendar - properly?

The following "to do" list will help:

a) Maintain a sense of humour!

b) Make time for yourself.

c) Plan a vacation.

d) When you find yourself becoming "bogged down":

i) Delegate jobs to others

ii) Eliminate those activities which are simply "wants" rather than "needs") Take credit as well as blame - stop playing "Adam" by blaming others for your failures.

f) After admitting that perfection is impossible - choose to get on with the business of living - stop looking back at past failures.

In closing I would like to quote a little verse from a daily devotion book I read some years ago:

Each day God gives is lo enough to do what we must And if we're faithful to the Lord Our strength he will renew. DJD.

Discovering that you don't have to do everything can be one of the great liberations of life!

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