“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Time is like money, it should be budgeted and spent wisely. In fact, time is a greater treasure than money – if you lose money, you at least have the ability to earn it back – whether it be through work or wise investing. But time? No matter how hard we try, time cannot be recouped – in fact, the more we try, the more time is wasted. Sadly, like money, poor time management, and what we spend our time on, almost seems to be a crisis in epic proportions these days. Almost any conversation I enter into with someone as it pertains to their health and their life, the challenge of “not enough time” or “I’m too busy” seems to come up.
I sat next to a woman on the airplane the other night. She shared with me that she was a breast cancer survivor. But then she proceeded to confess to me that she has found herself working far too many hours – 60-70 hours a week – once again. She recognized this at one time and reduced her work hours to more manageable levels. But then she found she was getting behind on all that she had to do, and has recently found herself working more hours once again just to catch up. She obviously was stressed due to the excessive work and the excessive time she was putting in at work. Stress=inflammation. Could there be a correlation to this excessive, chronic stress and the breast cancer? And a more important question is: is this God’s desire for her? Sadly, her story is not a unique one, but an all too common one.
I would like to “spend some time” over the coming weeks taking a look at what the Bible says about time, and how and where we might spend it. As I was doing a search to see what the Bible says about time, there were many, many scripture references to our time. But I would like to focus on just one chapter, and even just part of this particular chapter, and break down some ways God suggests we utilize our time – from a wholistic perspective – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. That chapter is Romans 12.
By God’s Mercies
First, verse 1 starts off by reminding us of what God has done for us – He sacrificed His body for us so that we might live eternally with Him. In exchange He is asking that we present our bodies as a sacrifice back to Him, holy and well-pleasing as an act of worship. He is also the giver of all time – every minute we have on this earth is a gift from Him. And how we spend it can be an act of worship to Him as well.
Sacrifice Our Bodies
How do we do this in the natural? It doesn’t mean to throw ourselves onto a burning altar as in the Old Testament days – Jesus sacrificed His own body so we wouldn’t have to literally die on an altar. But He is asking for our dedication and commitment of our whole self, including our time and our body. This can be a form of worship to Him when we do this. After all, we use our bodies to spend our time. The question is are we spending precious time trying to manage our sickness and disease (which Jesus also already took to the cross for us), or are we utilizing our time to take care of our body, His temple, for His service?
What Do You Value?
Verse 2a says “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes]…”
This is where the rubber meets the road, the core of the determination on where and how we spend our time. It is said that God can take a look at our bank statement and see what we value. The same can be said for our time. If you were to keep a log of your time for one month, where would the balance of your time be spent? Do you spend your time, your gift from God, on the things of the world? Or on the things that matter to God? Do you spend excessive time at your job just to earn more money to spend on the things of the world? Are you trying to pay for a house or a car that is bigger and better than you actually need? Is this your measurement of success? It might be success by the world’s standards, but it’s not success in God’s eyes.
Do you spend your time on your body to look good and appear attractive for others? Or are you spending time on your body to be healthy and strong for service to the Kingdom? How many hours a week do you spend on having your hair and nails done, going to the gym to lose those extra pounds just so you can look good. How much time and money (and money converts into time) do you spend clothes shopping, or even watching the latest YouTube video for home decorating ideas? Or is your time spent in a place of still and quiet, desiring to seek His face and hear what He might have to say to you?
Are you spending your time trying to make your children be competitively better than the Jones’ next door? Are you trying to win their favor by giving them every material shiny object they desire and think they want? Are you having to work extra hours so you can take elaborate prom pictures, buy the most beautiful dress that will be worn once for a few hours, and then spend your time posting pictures bragging about how beautiful they are? Or maybe it’s for that annual family trip to Disneyland that literally costs thousands of dollars. Or is your time spent more wisely on your children – teaching them about a life with Jesus, spending quality time in prayer and studying His Word as a family? Perhaps even spend quality time together serving others that are in need.
What does God value? That is where we should be spending our time – not working excessive hours to afford material things of the world for ourselves and our children, but spend our time on things that matter to Him.
Don’t get me wrong – spending our time on the things we enjoy – whether it be our homes, our children or even our appearance isn’t wrong, as long as it has its right place in the pecking order of priority with our time. But when we are having to work so hard at our job to provide for these things, that it overrides the priorities with our time that are pleasing to God, or even causing harm to our physical, emotional, and spiritual health, then there is an imbalance with our time. Our priorities are out of order. Put God first and He will honor you with far more than you can even begin to think or imagine. Not necessarily with material things, and the things of the world, but with His peace and grace and love. You will see fruit for the Kingdom when the priorities with your time are in the right balance.
In Conclusion
I urge you to spend your time this coming week pondering the answers to these questions. Do you need to shift your priorities on how and where you spend your time? Are they on the things of the world, or for God and His Kingdom?
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