Time is....

   One of the best and most challenging times of the church calendar year is the season of Lent.  Lent is very cool because it signifies that Easter is right around the corner and the crux of the Christian faith is about to be celebrated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Also, all the Easter candy isn't half bad either, especially when we get to over stuff ourselves with Cadbury eggs and Peeps.  In all the joyous hope of what the resurrection of Jesus and sugar highs can bring, there is a part of Lent that is challenging if we chose to acknowledge and participate in it.  This harsh reality is that Lent forces us to not only face our own mortality and the most famous way of exiting earth is through death, but we also recognize that we are not perfect and that there are things that we need to improve on.  There are many people who give up or fast things for Lent that may have a misplaced priority in their life.  It could be anything from certain foods, to television, and technology.  Hopefully, during this time of fasting, we are putting into practice good and healthy boundaries and practices to replace what we are fasting from.  If not, we will find something just as equally destructive to take the place of what we are fasting. During this time of Lent, I have came up with a profound thought for me and that is I have come to realize that throughout the Old Testament, God mentions repeatedly that the Israelites are consistently stealing from Him.  There are various thefts that God calls out the nation of Israel on.  I know I don't like to hear this, but God has called me out on how I steal and one of the more common thefts I do is through time. 

  Through this awareness, I have realized that we all have gifts and talents, and when we do not use them to the best of our ability, or for the right purposes, we are stealing from God.  Some might say, what is the gift of time?  I know we all get twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, but it is how we use that time.  We are all called to use it wisely.  I also know that we all have different amounts of free time, due to family/relationship, church, and work commitments.  I think how we use them signifies how are relationship with God is going.  If we spend to much time and effort in one area, the others are going to become out of balance.  How do I make sure that I use my time well. 

  The first realization I have is that I have a lot more free time than most and heres why.  I am single with no kids, so this frees up a lot of time.  I am not saying that being in a relationship or having kids is a bad thing, but it is a realization that I do not have to invest time into those areas that other people do.  My only real time focus is my job (because I want to pay my bills) and some commitments at church.  I might have a few extra things to do that my mom or others ask me to do, but in all reality, my work commitment is the biggest time constraint that I have to my time.  So I am working through how to use my time better.  Here is some things that I have learned

  The first one is that time is a gift from God and it even might be a spiritual gift.  I know Paul doesn't point blank name time as a spiritual gift, but I think it is as how we use those gifts is a reflection of how we use or don't use our time.  As with any spiritual gift, it can be used for building the Kingdom of God, or for our own pleasures.  I know I am pretty good at taking what I am good at and using it for my advantages and doing things that I want to do.  The time of Lent is suppose to be a time where we are reflecting and finding out how we can use our giftings for God's glory and not personal gain.

   The second realization that I came to, is that if there isn't accountability, things wont get done.  I am learning to allow people in my life to help keep me accountable.  A great way to find accountability, is by joining a small group or creating one.  It is finding a couple people where you all can share what's going on, and pray for each other.  It is more than just praying for warmer weather or someone's stubbed toe.  It is finding those couple people you trust to share life with and to celebrate the good stuff, and to challenge each other on our attitudes and actions.    For me I can waste time like no other, especially on my days off.  I am learning that I need to be more proactive in what I do and not just do what comes to me.  I can waste a lot of time on the internet, but for me it is finding time to do more writing and reading.  I can say I am going to do those things, but if I don't develop a plan, and have accountability, they are not going to get done. 

  The third thing that I have realized is that I have noticed when I do not use my time wisely, that when I struggle with others areas of life.  When I am not making the commitment for my devotional life or am content in just wasting time doing other things,  this is when I tend to struggle with eating and a host of other things.  One of the things that comes to mind is the saying "idle hands are the devils playground."  Now this saying may not be completely true, but when my time because unproductive or even things that God has not called me to do at that time, I know I will struggle.

  The final thing that I have learned is that if you want to know what is important to someone, find out what they spend most of there time doing.  This excludes work, because we all need to pay the bills.  When its not employment time, what we do most of, I have a hunch is where are greatest strength's are and where we struggle the most.  We need to find a balance in life and knowing where our strength's are and where the pitfalls are and how we can work to miss them. 

  One last thought, I have a friend from seminary who is a pastor in Louisiana by the name of Chad Brooks (@revchadbrooks) who has a podcast called the Productive Pastor.  It deals a lot with the issue of time and how we use it in and out of ministry settings.  He is a great resource of how to better use time