Time

One of the points our Pastor made during this past Sunday's sermon was about time. It was an excellent point to me, and one that I have personally been working on myself. The verse he used was Ephesians 5:16 which has several different translations, so I thought I'd share a few of them, my favorite being from The Message and a bit different.

"These are evil times, so make every minute count." Contemporary English Version

"making the most of your time, because the days are evil." New American Standard Bible

"Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days." New Living Translation

"making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." English Standard Version

"Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!" The Message

I have been very guilty in the past of wasting time. TV used to be my nemesis, beckoning to me, especially with the advent of the Food Network and our digital recorder. I could record anything I wanted and watch it when I want. Probably a year ago, I decided I was spending too much time watching TV. I am certainly not saying TV is evil and should be avoided. I happen to think that a little wind down at the end of the day is perfectly acceptable. Or perhaps a mid-day break with a favorite chef while I recharge with a cup of tea or coffee. But I've become very selective on what I watch. And there are several reasons for this.

The first reason being my children. My TV viewing is a bad example to be blunt. If I sit and watch TV all day, what am I showing them? It's not difficult to see the bad example there. I also used to let them watch a lot of TV. Now we're down to just a little TV viewing for the kids each day. Not by setting restrictions and telling them they can't, but by providing them alternatives and showing them there are so many other fun things to do. We're to the point that on the occasional day I really just want to lounge and not do much, I have a hard time convincing the kids to sit and watch TV for more than 20 minutes. I can be okay with that. :-)

The second reason for halting my TV viewing is the old adage of garbage in-garbage out. It really is stupifying to watch a lot of TV- even when some of it is instructional. I also had been enjoying a few TV shows in the evenings that were maybe a little more than I should be watching. When the plot turns involve a lot of sleeping around and such, I should maybe not be watching. This past winter I even gave up one of my favorite TV shows that I've been watching for 15 years because one of the storylines was about a stalker and was really, really disturbing me every week that story was featured.

And the biggest reason for lessening my TV viewing is the issue of Time. As the verses state above, there is so much more I could be doing with my time. Sitting and watching something is not a good use of time. For me, that time was taking away from other productive things, even simple things like getting the laundry done or cleaning up a mess. By cutting out most of my TV time, I've found so much more time! I now get my household chores done early in the day and can spend my afternoons with my children, giving them my full attention. Or on the days that they are busy with each other, I get to sneak a rare moment to curl up with a book or work on a cross-stitch project. If someone were to ask me how much TV I watch, I can honestly say that if I watch 90 minutes a day, it's a lot. We usually watch an hour-long show about 3 nights a week, and other than that...? Occasionally something else will catch our interest, but our family is in a much better place having cut out a lot of TV viewing.

Time truly is precious. There are always things that require some of our time- work is a huge one for most people. But what do you do with the rest of your time? Do you spend it vegging in front of the TV? Do you spend it playing video games? Or do you spend it with the ones you love or spend it doing something productive? When you look back at today will you be proud of what you have accomplished or will you regret the four hours you spent watching HGTV? And what would your Heavenly Father say about your day? You know what he'll say- "Child, if you want to change tomorrow, I can help you. Lean on me and I can help you use your time wisely." A simple prayer in the morning of "God, help me to use my time wisely," is all it takes to get you on your way. Instead of spending that 20 minutes watching someone refurbish a home to sell, spend 20 minutes in God's Word, finding out what he has to tell you. It will make all the difference in the world, and will help you to use your time for His Glory.