Time + Money = What You Value
Quick – make a list of the top priorities in your life! Go ahead and do it.
Did your list include things like time with God, your family, and your career? These things are important and probably should be part of your “priority” list. Now, think about how you actually spent your time today. Did these priorities even show up on your radar? Did you run out of “time” when it came to your relationship with God or your family? I often say that if you tell me how you spend your time and your money, I can tell you what you value.
Can we just cut to the truth? We are not running out of time. We are making choices each and everyday about things that we want to do. I have a friend who constantly tells me that I give people the “Shelly-Belly” truth! Well here it is – we refuse to exercise self-discipline to make the things that we say are important a reality. We let the unimportant things crowd our days while we are letting our most important priorities slip away.
So how can we fix this problem? Well, understand that no one can fix it for us, but rather, we can make better choices. Choice #1, we need to get into a mind-set of advanced decision making. Once you decide what your top priorities are, then make choices in advance about how you will show with your actions that they are priorities. For example, if you ranked your relationship with God high on the list, then the advanced decisions are that you will be at church and will spend personal time with God in His Word and in prayer. When you let busyness take priority over this, then you are not walking your talk with integrity.
Choice #2, cut out the things in your life that are not producing good fruit. For example, is watching 3 hours of television producing any fruit in your life? Is running yourself to death trying to have your kids in multiple activities producing any fruit in your life? What are your kids going to remember about that kind of lifestyle anyway – that mom or dad is always tired and cranky because they are constantly on the road? Choose your children’s activities with wisdom. If their activities are ruling your household and determining when and if you are able to serve God, then you might want to reconsider.
On more than one occasion, the Apostle Paul compared our Christian lives to a race. 1 Corinthians 9:23-25 says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives AW)”>the prize? AX)”>Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who AY)”>competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable AZ)”>wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I BA)”>run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not BB)”>beating the air;…”
Do you see in these verses that Paul is telling us that we must run with self control? This is the advanced decision making. A runner must determine within themselves their diet and exercise before race day if they plan on winning. Runners can’t show up at the start line with a donut in one hand after they have stayed up late the night before and expect to win. Well, if we want to run our Christian race with excellence, we must too decide in advance what will make us effective. Look at that last part, “I run in such a way, as not without aim…” Friends, let’s set our aim on choices that will allow us to run the race with endurance and live with some purpose. Don’t let life just happen day to day – have a master plan that is honoring to God.