Ephesians 5:16
Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Making the Most of Every Opportunity
Paul tells us that we must act wisely with those outside the church and to make the most of every opportunity (Col. 4:5), and I am guessing that he means we ought to use every opportunity, every moment to tell those outside the church about Christ and that today is their day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2) because nobody knows whether tomorrow will even come (Prov. 27:1). That’s something they can’t put off, and those opportunities are things we shouldn’t waste. That’s the only way Paul’s comment in Colossians 4:5 seems to make sense.
Time–A Valuable Commodity
We don’t have a clue about the day of our death. Young people die of aneurysms. Some die in car accidents. Some I talk to think they’ll live to be 80, but we can’t take that for granted. When our schedules are so full of activities that we rarely have the time to study our Bible, pray, or go to church or Bible study, then we are too busy. We may not feel we have the time, so we must make the time. Doing an inventory of your day or week is a great way to assess just what you spend your time doing and what takes the bulk of your time away from things involving the kingdom. Time is precious. Not another minute can our money buy. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a few people who were dying, either on their deathbed or in hospice, and no one I’ve ever spoken to in these circumstances felt like they should have spent more time watching TV or movies or surfing the Internet. On the contrary, many of these people told me that they wished they had redeemed the time in a way that reflects the priority of helping others, serving others, and witnessing to the lost. Those few seconds you’ve just spent reading this are gone forever, and you may never get a second chance to show someone the love of God.
Excuse the Excuses
We can either admit we’ve wasted time doing things to please ourselves or try to make excuses, and believe me, I can make up a lot of them. I feel that I have squandered much of my life on my own self, which was wasted time. Time cannot be put into a bottle and saved. You cannot deposit time and save it for later. Once it is spent, it is gone forever with no second chance. I need to keep praying every morning, reading my Bible every morning, praying for divine appointments in my day, and doing all I can do to spread the Word of God to those who don’t know Christ. I feel a sense of shame for time spent on me, but I’ve never felt more joy than when I pour out my life for others. We are stewards of our time and will be held accountable someday for how we use or misuse it.
A Closing Prayer
Father, I have been so frivolous with my life. Please help me to squeeze every second out of every minute out of every hour out of every day for the things that bring You glory and not me pleasure. Forgive my wasting of what is a gift–my time–on myself. Help me to focus on others, and in Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
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