5. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can
As with the previous resolutions, this one requires a high dose of wisdom. It may be illuminating to look again at a few questions derived from the resolution:
1. What does it mean to lose time?
2. What does it mean to improve time?
3. What is the most profitable way to use time? If so, is it sustainable?
Questions #1 and #2 are indeed the same. Losing time is not making good use of it while improving time means to make good use of it. Unless used in the most profitable way, time is wasted. OK, question now is who is its main beneficiary? I hope this becomes evident as we think of at least three areas for application.
1. Invest time for your soul
Time, like anything else we experience around us is a gift from God. Thus, the gift is to be received and used to glorify Him. Here we begin, with the spiritual dimension, investing it in knowing God, in praying, in hearing from Him, in serving His people, in reaching out to others and so forth.
2. Invest time for your body
Clearly, time is not be used solely in spiritual endeavours. We not only have an spirit but a body that needs care. But how much care should we take of ours? I think whatever is enough to be able to carry in a proper way the roles we have been called to by God. This implies, that there is no need to rush eating and drinking to get more work done. Or to skip meals because there is an important deadline. Or to deprive yourself of rest and sleep. Even if you think you're young and strong! No, please (and I'm preaching to myself here too!). More can be said, but again the key word here is wisdom from above.
3. Invest time for the tasks your roles demand
This is a tricky one. For instance, if you're a parent how much time should you spend parenting? Or if you're a pastor, how much time should you spend counseling and preparing your sermon? Or if you're a teacher, how much time for class preparing? Or what about time spent in entertainment, like in watching T.V., movies and social networking? Clearly, some of these things you can decide wisely and fine tune according to circumstances, but what about situations where you are close to helpless to control? What about time spent in a traffic jam? Or in the middle of a burocratic delay? If these "unexpected" delays and "wasting" of time are inevitable, then how should we use that time? Spend it in complaining? Probably not. There might be better uses for it. Probably not opening your laptop and start word processing that paper. What about some of the things outlined above?
Bottom line to all this is asking God wisdom to know how to better use His gift of time. He gave us a fixed amount to accomplish His purposes for us, the mission He has set us on earth for. And if we fail in the middle of it, may we be sobered to remember that our limited time resources are a reminder of our fragility. But also encouraged that He who never sleeps sustains us even in our very sleep until the day we drop and go home with Him.
"So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom" Psalm 90:12
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